The Color of Crimson
by Raven4129
Summary: As a loner, Vincent has never been one for friendship, even among those he traversed the Crater with, but when Terra is suddenly dropped into his lap, he can't help but feel drawn to her, and back to those who care the most about him. Chapter 19 is up!
1. Departure

**Disclaimer:** All the Final Fantasy characters used in this fic are strictly on a loan basis only and are not my own creation :)

**A/N:** Be gentle. This is my first FFVII fan fic that I have ever written, and it's been in production for awhile. All of this takes place shortly after Meteor and ignores any subsequent official story cannon, such as Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus. Oh, and I know Terra was in a previous Final Fantasy game, but I only borrowed her name and green hair :) Enjoy!

**T**he sunrise was barely creeping up over the horizon, welcoming the new day with such a splash of orange that Terra wondered how the whole world wasn't alight with sunshine. The Planet had never been more beautiful than this morning, which was strangely, and sadly, ironic. Terra wasn't the least bit anxious to leave, holding her bag tightly with a grip so strong she thought the handle might break with any more pressure. The New Midgar awaited her return and with a heavy sigh she wished that in some other life different decisions could have been made and she would be happier, living a life not conducted by her father. Only Vincent had never quite understood her plight, promising only to protect her from physical harm if anyone tried to take her forcefully, becoming her guardian of sorts over the past few months until her father had decided that a peaceful approach was best against this beast his daughter wielded on his guards.

Chaos.

He'd told her that it was unpredictable, unchangeable, and yet she still lingered, lapping up everything about him she could like she had an insatiable appetite for him, and the wild beast within only drew her closer. The night that they had collided together in a turmoil of emotions still burned on her mind like the morning sun warmed her cooled skin.

_"How long has it been?"_

_"Oh…too long. Too long…"_

And now she was leaving, her bags packed the night before and now sitting on the front steps as she stood opposite them on the back patio, her mind solely on her departure and how desperately she wanted to stay. Somewhere deep inside she knew she needed him, needed that instability but she had convinced herself that Midgar was where she belonged and where she was needed by others. Connor wasn't well, and with the recent news of her brother…

"You ready to go?"

Cold, aloof as always, and Terra turned from the sunrise to look at Vincent standing in the frame of the open sliding door, his red cape brushing the ground around his feet as a soft breeze blew past him into the house. Raven hair floated along the air, wisping away from his face to reveal his burning red eyes boring right through her, but there was no smile. There was never a smile.

"You're taking me?" she asked, surprised to see that his gun was holstered at his hip. Vincent didn't have a carriage, only a chocobo that Terra had delighted in taking care of, and now a small spark of excitement ignited in her at the thought that she could spend another day traveling with him. "I called Cloud and he said –"

"Yeah well he called me," Vincent said shortly, turning on his heels and disappearing into the house, his cape billowing in his wake. Terra bit her lip and took one last look at the ocean, glittering in the morning light, then followed after him, trying to remember why she had gotten herself into this mess in the first place.


	2. Costa Del Sol

**Disclaimer:** None of these guys are mine :)

**A/N:** This chapter is Terra's background and a lead-in to what's going to happen in the next chapter. Vincent's not in this chapter, but, promise promise, he's going to be in the next. Enjoy! And as always, reviews are always welcome :)

**THREE MONTHS EARLIER**

**T**he trip from Midgar had taken more than a few days, a time table that Terra hadn't considered, especially when her initial plan had only included a short ride to Kalm, a short stay, and then a subsequent short ride back home. All she had wanted was a few days reprieve, and to spend it visiting her cousin Cloud Strife, and his roommate Tifa Lockheart, who also owned the local pub, but when the circumstances had changed, so had her short plans into long-term ones. The last place she ever expected to wind up, however, was in Costa Del Sol, the small coastal city clear across the ocean where Cloud still held the deed to an ocean-view villa, and yet she found that she wasn't surprised. A lot of rumors had surfaced in the wake of Meteor, a lot of them far-fetched and, frankly, ridiculous, but one in particular had been part of the reason for Terra's sudden departure from Midgar. Cloud, according to various Upper Plate residents, was a Planet-weary traveler, and so when she had shown up on Tifa's doorstep she had been greeted by a solemn, blonde-headed young man with a broad-sword strapped to his back and a backpack slung over his shoulder. True to the rumor, he was headed out and to the Western Continent.

However much Terra had wanted to see it, the beach hadn't held as much appeal to her as she had thought it would, finding nothing more than superficiality in the form of a bathing suit. There was no denying the golden residents and tourists of the small resort town were beautiful, but the last thing Terra needed, or wanted, was the self-centeredness of status. She had enough of that at home. So she avoided the beach and its bathers (along with a rather unusual young guy who chronically swam laps in the crystal water) and instead enjoyed a heated game of soccer with a few of the local children before retiring for a quiet dinner on the back veranda of the bar.

"That man by the surfboards is ogling you," Terra stated as Cloud took a seat across from her. With a grunt he glanced over his shoulder, waved curtly, then returned to his drink, and Terra bit back a laugh as the man giggled audibly and turned into his circle of friends.

"That's Mooki." –his drink clanked with ice as he took a sip. "He's laboring under the impression that I'm interested in his well-oiled muscles and man-package."

"You mean you're not?" she teased, and Cloud tossed a wadded up napkin at her.

Breathing deep, she smiled at their banter as she further took in the scenery. The patio looked out over a broad expanse of lush grass and to the left a long stretch of sandy shore, to the right the Corel Mountains that clawed unevenly at the sharp blue sky. All at once she was overwhelmed with hatred for the confines of Midgar and everything the floating city stood for. It was fake, mechanically engineered for perfection and yet its shining achievement was nothing more than a dull second place to the natural elements it shunned.

"I'd like to meet your friends," she said at length, picking absently at her sandwich, suddenly not hungry. She had already been gone a week and traveled across the ocean so what was a few more days to see the rest of the countryside and meet a few new people? A second later Cloud looked at her darkly over the rim of his glass and she laughed. "No, not Mooki. I mean your real friends, like the girl you're rooming with and that guy with the gun arm."

After a long, slow sip of his drink Cloud finally consented, mentioning that his pilot friend, Cid, was throwing a huge dinner the following evening for reasons unknown. The whole gang was invited to attend so Terra wouldn't be missing anyone, unless of course Vincent didn't show up, which was likely.

"He and I tend to be party poopers. Neither of us have a very good track record for showing up at things like that." –another sip and he drew in a breath through his teeth. "I hate parties."

"As long as it's not an elite social event, I don't mind them," Terra added quietly, remembering the party that her father had thrown only recently, supposedly in her honor, but she hadn't the stomach to show up after glancing out her upstairs bedroom window. Looking at all the women in spring dresses and the men with their sculpted hair, Terra had been overwhelmed with the desire to fling a bucketful of water onto all of them but instead fled out the back door and took the first train down to the slums. With only a piece of paper in her hand and the cocktail dress she wore, she left her home in search of her ex-SOLDIER (who, apparently, wasn't so ex-anything) cousin who could quite possibly hide her until she so desired to go back home. With the way things were going, she doubted that would be any time soon.

Clearing his throat, Cloud sat up and placed his drink on a watered-down napkin before looking at her from beneath his almost canary yellow eyebrows, and Terra shifted uncomfortably. If there was one thing she remembered about him, it was that you couldn't put a lot of things by him, and she was now afraid that he had figured it all out. However, if he had, his next words didn't reveal it, and Terra let out a stale breath.

"That's right. I'd forgotten that your father used to work alongside the former president of Shin-Ra. Rarely, but he'd consult with him from time to time, right?"

"Something like that," Terra murmured, not excited about the memory. All her life she had hated Shin-Ra, what it stood for, what it did to people's lives and those it forced into the slums. The Upper Crust had been virtually unreachable, even for those who worked at Shrin-Ra, and even now the shadow of its power still lingered over Midgar, suppressing its potential to grow and prosper once more. "Listen, I'm tired. I think I'm going to turn in for the evening."

Cloud tossed the keys to his villa across the table and they chinked loudly as they landed on the decorative tile surface. There were only two, one for the padlock and one for the doorknob, and there was a single keychain that Terra recognized as a staff, a popular weapon for women who trekked cross-country. She had debated buying one once just to train with in case she ever decided to leave on her own, but in the end, convenience won out and she had opted to commission an ATV to take her to Kalm.

"Everything you need should be in there," he said, leaning back in his chair once more and taking up his whisky. "Yuffie likes to stay there a lot when she's on the prowl." –the smallest smirk pricked the corner of his mouth when Terra's brow furrowed. "Eventually, you'll learn not to ask."

Taking the keys, she left Cloud with a quiet goodnight and made her way back through the bar and toward the villa which was next door, and she was relieved to find that the place was well-guarded from noise. Inside was quiet, not unlike what she was used to, and yet still different, the silence somehow calmer, less infused with stress and resentment and it was a blissful reprieve from the home she had left in Midgar. Scattered all around were various amenities that revealed the villa wasn't just used by one but many persons, and Terra found that she couldn't deny the urge to light the many candles that were on various tables and shelves. They smelled heavenly, and she made a light twirl down the hallway and into the large bathroom that was home to a spa bathtub where more candles awaited her along with bath salts and lotions, and dozens of other self-pampering accessories.

Tonight, she thought as she began to draw herself a bath, sprinkling lavender bath salts all over the base of the tub. Tonight I bathe as a free woman.


	3. Hot Tea and Charred Hot Dogs

**Disclaimer: We all know how these work. None of these characters are mine, etc, etc.**

Flattening the palm of her hand against the mirror, Terra wiped away the condensation to reveal a tired and haggard visage that she hardly recognized. Her lime-green hair was limp and tangled from the hot shower and worry lines had crept across her normally smooth forehead, telling her that she had officially bitten off more than she could chew. Reaching up, she padded her fingertips around the base of her eyes, feeling the bags there that had formed after her mere four hours of dream-riddled sleep, only to be awakened with a heart-stopping scare in the middle of the night by Cloud's hand clamping over her mouth.

They had found her. Well, whoever _they_ actually were. Her father had a lot of friends from a lot of shady places around Midgar, some of them former Turks or Shin-Ra soldiers that had turned mercenaries, their only morals that of the highest bidder for their services. It was almost a flattering thought to know that her father was looking for her, if not for the fact that he wasn't traversing the Planet himself, upturning rocks to find her out of genuine concern. That and he always, _always_ had an ulterior motive, this one being that her recent disappearance was an ugly blemish on his otherwise spotless reputation.

So, after an emergency flight out of Costa Del Sol, Cloud and Terra had touched down a mile outside of Rocket Town and had spent that entire mile fighting off fiends. While Terra hadn't done much in the way of actual fighting, she ached from using the materia gifted to her, and the constant beatings she took despite standing further behind Cloud. The hot shower offered by Shera upon their arrival had helped to soothe a lot of her strained muscles, but it had also made her sleepy and she began to debate going to the cookout.

Drawing in a deep breath, the air thick with the scent of Shera's floral shampoo, Terra tightened the towel about herself and left the bathroom, a waft of steam following in her wake, and she started for the small bedroom nearby where some clean clothes had been laid out for her, only she stopped when her eyes caught sight of a long red cape and raven hair. A startled squeak escaped her before she had the chance to disappear through the door, and the man behind the cape turned just enough to reveal his profile and glance at her. His skin was porcelain white that looked almost neon in contrast with the deep crimson of his cape and the midnight black of his hair, and Terra found that her next breath was very slow in coming.

"Y-you're inside," she stammered dumbly, remembering that Shera had promised no one would be arriving for another hour. She then pulled at the bottom of the towel, causing the knot to fall away from her chest and she scrambled to keep the whole towel from falling. The entire time he never glanced away from her, and Terra grew more and more flustered the longer this went on.

"And you're half-naked," he stated, his red eyes darting over her figure briefly before turning back to the counter where he was tending to a mug of tea that was steeping. "If it bothers you, perhaps you should continue into the bedroom."

It was with this that he left, his cape sweeping the floor as he turned and walked past her and down the short hallway to the back door. Once she heard it open and close, she hurried into the bedroom to get dressed, but when she bounded out the back door nearly thirty minutes later, fully dressed and anxious to explain herself to the first visitor of the night, Terra was cut short by a bouncy, petite teenager that wouldn't let her pass without a proper introduction.

"Oh I don't generally bother with doors," she laughed after Terra had mentioned not hearing her arrive. She then introduced herself as Yuffie, and pointed to a small gap in the fence that wasn't big enough to allow access to anyone but her, and before Terra knew it, she was being led further and further away from the caped man who stood with Cid next to a shiny new cooking grill.

As the night wore on, more and more people began to arrive and Terra was kept occupied by meeting the rest of the group that had migrated toward her for introductions, and as she fell into pleasant conversation with Tifa and Red XIII, she gradually began to forget about the man who had flustered her so badly. Even as Cloud broke away from the group and traipsed across the back lawn toward the grill, Terra hardly seemed bothered and instead focused her attention on getting to know everyone a bit better, loving the casual atmosphere and lack of formalities to which she had grown so accustomed to in Midgar.

Across the lawn, Cloud was approaching the man with the cape who had since moved to the serving table in an obvious effort to remain aloof from the rest of the party and Cloud took a deep breath before speaking to get his attention.

"I'm surprised that you came, Vincent."

Vincent Valentine stiffened at the voice, for a moment not recognizing it, and it wasn't until he heard the thud of heavy boots over the caked dirt that he relaxed and took another bite of a hot dog he hadn't exactly wanted in the first place. Turning his head slightly, he caught a glimpse of deep purple and black before Cloud stepped completely into view, no welcoming smile on his face.

"Considering I usually detest merriment, I almost didn't," Vincent answered, setting his plate aside with a slight cringe. Cid had been a little over-zealous with his new grill and had burnt the meat. Nothing had been spared, not even the vegetables. "However, Tifa contacted me and said that you wished to speak to me. No bad news, I pray?"

With a shake of his head, Cloud reassured him nothing had happened to anyone but didn't immediately reveal his reasons. While Vincent may not have been an uncaring individual, he wasn't exactly bubbling with warmth, and he was hardly a man to grant many favors. Sure he would traverse to the end of the Planet for you but it better be for a damn good reason, and Cloud almost decided against asking him. Glancing at Terra, however, seemed to prickle his confidence again and he met Vincent's blazing red eyes.

"I have a large favor to ask of you," Cloud began slowly, allowing his words a chance to sink in and so far Vincent was receptive. His eyes peered somewhat curiously over the large red collar of his cape, so Cloud pressed on. "Terra needs a place to stay for awhile, and since people are looking for her she can't stay with Tifa. They've already searched her bar and my old villa."

The silence between them was palpable as Vincent mulled over Cloud's request, his eyes closing with thought. It wasn't until there was a loud foomp from the grill a few yards away and Cid yelling, "I'm okay!" that he opened them again and fixed Cloud with an intense gaze.

"How long?"

"A month. Maybe two. All I'm asking is that you keep her hidden, check in on her to make sure she's okay." –Cloud glanced at Terra again to find her laughing alongside Yuffie at Cid's singed eyebrows, and he wondered how long it had been since she had genuinely laughed with another. "I'll take her off your hands once the hype dies down."

"And why is it you can't take her along with you?" Vincent queried, turning back toward the selection of food. Convincing himself that he was hungry, he decided on something that looked like potato salad and scooped some onto a plate, somehow knowing he wasn't going to eat it. "You've never been one to shirk your responsibilities."

"I've also never had to babysit. Listen, all you have to do is just drop her off at your place and check in on her from time to time."

Vincent said nothing for a long while, a denial on the tip of his tongue. He'd grown accustomed to living alone, moping around alone, coming and going as he pleased without the constant worry of disturbing another. Having Terra around would be…well, irritating, but after glancing at Terra where she sat with Yuffie and Tifa laughing and having a good time, the chill in his heart seemed to warm slightly.

A curt nod and an agreement was made between them, Cloud thankful that Vincent hadn't requested more details. The situation was complicated enough as it was and the last thing Cloud need was to try and explain a situation that he wasn't entirely sure he understood himself. So, before Vincent had a change of heart, Cloud clapped him on the back as thanks and quickly made his exit as Vincent turned once more to look at Terra who appeared drastically different from their previous meeting indoors. Her once limp green hair was now fluffy and wavy and amazingly emerald like an elemental materia orb, and Vincent found that he couldn't keep from staring until she glanced away from Tifa and toward the serving table, meeting his gaze for a fraction of a second.

A few days, he told himself, busying his attention with the gauntlet on his hand. A few days and then she's gone.

Vincent then stalked away from the table, his potato salad perched on the edge and predictably forgotten.


	4. Surprise

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of these guys :)

**T**he party didn't end until well after twilight, all of the gathered friends indulging themselves by telling exaggerated stories of their adventures for Terra. Each one attempted to outdo the other all in good fun, Cid being the winner with a comical account of stealing the Highwind from the Shin-Ra a number of years before, but while Terra was enjoying the old memories she found the atmosphere to be the real meat of the fun. Shera had built a fire in the middle of the backyard where the rest had helped in arranging benches around the flames, and as the sky had grown darker above them, each face glowed brighter. In Midgar Terra may have had friends but their idea of a good time was jewelry shopping with father's money or giggling over tiny puppies while the prospect of sitting on gnarled benches with "commoners" was horrifying. After all, their new dress for the week might pop a stitch. This…this right here, sharking jokes and good food, was freedom.

But by morning the feeling was gone, the group having to go back to their lives and as Terra stepped out of the guest bedroom, the cold reality of her decision settled over her like a dense fog. Cloud was gone leaving no trace of himself behind and all Terra had left of their trip were a few orbs of materia and a backache, but even his abandonment hadn't changed her mind. Midgar was the last place that she wanted to be right now.

Smoothing out the wrinkles of her dress, Terra drew in a deep breath to compose her bruised pride and made the short trek to the kitchen where Shera was frying up a modest breakfast of eggs and bacon while she whistled a tune from the radio. The thick scent of grease mingled with the lingering odor of freshly squeezed orange juice, and Terra's stomach growled loudly from its previous mistreatment of burnt hot dogs, but just as she chirruped a good morning and reached for a handful of bacon she stopped. Sitting at the table, his gaze affixed through the front window as he sipped at a steaming mug of coffee, was Vincent, and Terra felt her entire body grow cold. What was he still doing here?

"Sorry about the makeshift breakfast," Shera was apologizing as she set another helping of bacon on the table and motioning for Terra to take a few pieces. "Vincent's in a bit of a hurry this morning."

When Terra looked from him to Shera curiously, the latter bit her lower lip and her entire face cinched into an expression of regretful apology.

"Oh no…Cloud didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?"

Vincent rose slowly from his chair and straightened his cloak, his various effects and accessories chinking loudly, and he raised an eyebrow as he glanced over his shoulder at Terra. "Your cousin has graciously offered my services to babysit you and considering I have somewhere to be this morning, I would appreciate your haste so I can take you to your new dwelling."

"Babysit?" Terra spluttered heatedly, already imagining herself spooning a fistful of eggs into his face. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Oh? Then I'll simply take you back to your father's care," Vincent said as though merely commenting on the weather, and he began to buckle the tall collar of his cloak so it hid the lower half of his face. "From what I hear he's quite adamant in your retrieval."

He didn't give her a chance for a rebuttal. The front door was open and closed within seconds, Vincent already outside before Terra had even processed the entirety of the insult and she wondered what would be worse: a week or more with Vincent's resentment or going back to live with her father. So, refusing to relent in her resolve, Terra took in a quick breath through her nose and started after him, her breakfast forgotten on the table, and she marched through the front door in order to teach him a lesson or two about how he was going to talk to her. Only when she spied him standing next to a chocobo, the morning sun reflecting off of his raven hair and accentuating the sharp, angular features of his face, she found that she couldn't say much of anything. Her voice was lost somewhere between her throat and her mouth and all that seemed to want to come out was the tiniest of moans.

"I suggest you bundle up," he said without even looking at her as he adjusted the saddle on the chocobo. It waarked at him and nipped affectionately at his hand as he moved to stroke its long neck. "Anouk only knows one speed, and on a brisk morning like this it won't be a pleasant ride."

But just to spite her, it seemed, Vincent didn't bother to offer a spare jacket or cloak, or even offer a suggestion on where she might go about getting one. All she had bothered to bring with her on this half-cocked trip was a cocktail dress that was in desperate need of a washing machine and a thin scarf that was strictly for aesthetic purposes.

"I don't have anything to bundle up with," she said tersely, crossing her arms and leaning her weight on one hip.

This time Vincent did look at her and his red eyes were suddenly ablaze with an emotion Terra couldn't quite place but knew deep down was dangerous, and had she not been so irritatingly attracted to him, she might have just taken a few steps back. Vincent, however, was just simply irritated, and it was on the tip of his tongue to demand why she was being so difficult when Shera bounded down the front stoop of their home, a plate of bacon in her hands and a jacket slung over her arm, and Vincent's self-control seemed to find itself again. Chaos would have to wait another day…or hour; whenever Terra so decided to annoy him first.

"Here you are, dear," she smiled at Terra, glancing at Vincent out of the corner of her eye as she helped Terra slip into the jacket, but Vincent didn't share the look, instead turning toward the chocobo and scratching her ears.

"More women should be like you, Anouk," he said quietly, and she nudged him with her beak. "You, I understand, but women like Terra…Lucrecia…it's like trying to skate on water."

It was another ten minutes to get Terra mounted, more so because she was so fascinated with Anouk's feathers rather than having never ridden before. Only the most elite of society could afford to breed a golden chocobo since only about three people on the Planet knew how; even her father didn't own one, and she pestered Vincent endlessly about how he came across Anouk in the now-floundering economy only to receive no answers. The entire trip he held his tongue, even as she clamped her arms around his midsection when Anouk stepped off of the sandy shore and onto the crisp blue of the ocean, though he couldn't hide his sudden intake of breath upon feeling her arms. Inexplicably, she had managed to melt one more icy layer with a simple action, and it was one more reason he chose not to speak for fear he might just say something he wasn't quite sure he wanted to say. It wasn't until they reached a remote island that he finally spoke, but with restraint.

"Choose any room you wish. I should be back by nightfall to check on you."

"But –" Terra began as he dropped a house key into her hand. She glanced down to look at it then looked up a moment later only to be met with the broad landscape of the island, Vincent nowhere in sight.


	5. Morning Interlude

**Disclaimer:** All the characters are property of Squaresoft/Enix...whatever they call themselves now...

**A/N:** Whew! I'm finally updating, huzzah! It's only been six months, haha, but hopefully I can keep subsequent chapters coming on a more regular basis. Welcome back, my faithful readers :) And as always, enjoy!

**O**nly Vincent wasn't back by nightfall, and Terra had fallen asleep in the living room waiting for him to come back. The front window was foggy from her body heat against the chilled glass of the evening, and when Vincent finally did traipse in through the front door to find her sitting on the broad window seat, he stopped abruptly, somewhat taken aback at the sight. At her feet was a kitchen knife that had slipped from her lax hand in the night and her necklace was burdened with a faint green materia that he assumed Cloud had left with her upon his departure. So she hadn't been exaggerating after all; her father really was trying to reclaim her with nothing less than brute force. Even being secluded on the island she was scared, and something inside of him hitched uncomfortably.

Hoping to avoid a confrontation, he quietly let the door slip closed and made his way toward the hallway that led toward the basement. Perhaps if he was stealthy enough he might just make it to his coffin before she woke up…only something stopped him. Maybe it was her hair, maybe it was the way her jaw slacked slightly as she slept, or the gentle rise and fall of her breath, but whatever it was made him stop and look at her. Even as she stirred and slowly woke, her expression hurt as her eyes fell upon him, he couldn't look away.

"Where were you all night?" she asked, voice froggy with sleep, but there was no denying the hurt in it.

"Give me a reason I should have been here instead," he said defensively. "I don't like being left in the dark, especially when I'm directly involved, and when a young woman such as yourself is so scared of being found by her father." –he took up the knife, cutting his sharp red eyes at her as he did so. "Does he abuse you?"

"Not exactly," she muttered, looking away sullenly and out the window to where Anouk lazily grazed, her feathers gleaming in the morning sun. "Though he's a very…aggressive man, and it doesn't matter who upsets him. Everyone gets equal treatment…even his children."

Drawing in a deep breath, Vincent took a seat on a nearby ottoman and prepared himself for the long haul. This story wasn't going to be a short one, and something told him that Terra enjoyed talking when given the proper opportunity, though at the same time he couldn't help but be a bit curious as to why she was so anxious to upset the apple cart if her father was so tyrannical. "Then why leave?"

"He's impossible. The man used to work with the president of Shin-Ra before all that happened with Meteor. He got used to the way things were, being the head honcho of his department and just about half the company reporting to him. He was bad then, but when Shin-Ra fell he became this kind of…monster."

"A cocktail party doesn't seem like the kind of thing a monster would be involved in," Vincent interjected quietly, motioning toward her dress and Terra looked at him with the tiniest smirk playing at the edge of her lips.

"You'd think so, but the man still believes in the socially elite. He wants me to marry young, marry rich, and marry a man who will one day create an empire like the once great Shin-Ra. That's what the party was for; a kind of engagement party…"

She trailed off, letting her gaze falter to the floor, and for reasons that Vincent could not fathom, he prompted her again to keep the conversation going.

"So you left in order to keep from meeting a boyfriend?"

Terra giggled and hugged her shins, looking at Vincent from over the bend of her knees with soft, sea-green eyes. "Well, when you say it like that it makes me sound conceited. It was more a battle of the wills; I don't want to marry and my father is forcing me to. Besides, I wanted to see the world, see everyday people doing everyday things. I've lived in Midgar all of my life, as did my mother, and…" –she paused and swallowed, looking back out the window. "Well, I didn't want to die not knowing what else was out there…who else was out there, which brings me to what I had wanted to ask you yesterday. The point of this trip wasn't to be hidden away for a few months, but rather to see the Planet, so…would you take me somewhere?"

Take her somewhere? Like where? There was nothing left that was remotely interesting. Mideel was a dying resort town, its people and village swallowed up by the Lifestream; Nibelheim was a sleepy little village that held no happy memories for anyone; and about all there was to do in Junon was go fishing for tin cans. Places of interest were few and far between, and Vincent sure wasn't going to volunteer the Gold Saucer. He hated that place with all its noise and blinking lights and screaming kids running back and forth between the video games and the rides.

"There aren't many tourist attractions anywhere. Many of the villages are nothing more than resort towns and money pits," Vincent explained. "About the only place of interest is Cosmo Canyon, but only as a haven to relax and reflect."

"Then take me there."

So it was settled. Cosmo Canyon was to be their first stop, and within the hour Terra had spruced up her hair and managed to smooth out a few wrinkles in her dress, looking fresh in spite of the fact that she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days.

"I hope they have a clothing store," she was saying as she bounded down the front steps and toward Anouk. The golden chocobo was closer to the house now, nibbling on a bush that sprouted bright tangerine berries, but when Terra neared her, she perked up and stamped a thick talon against the earth. Vincent didn't answer, only let her ramble on about needing new outfits if she was going to be sightseeing, within reason of course. Venturing out too often only tempted fate, and the last thing she needed was another confrontation like she'd had in Costa Del Sol, but any chance to get out was certainly welcome.

As they both mounted Anouk, Vincent prayed that Terra wouldn't talk the entire way to the Canyon; it was a long ride there and back.


	6. Reflections

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, the world of FFVII is not mine, though I'd gladly take Vincent off of Squarenix's hands :)

**A/N:** I'd like to thank Katie for her super awesome review (happy birthday, btw), and welcome back everyone for another installment. As always, enjoy, and please remember that reviews are always appreciated :)

**P**er Vincent's request, Terra had kept her expenditures to a minimum. She whole-heartedly agreed with his logic that an exorbitant shopping spree would draw a lot of attention that she didn't want. Her cocktail dress, however, simply had to go; it was beginning to reek of stale hot dogs and of the perfume she had used to cover up the offending odor, and so it was immediately ditched in a garbage can behind the counter of the materia shop shortly after she had changed into her new clothes. It was here that she chatted up the young boy that ran the register, asking him what there was to do that was fun and flashing him the kind of smile that generally made guys do exactly what she wanted them to. He proceeded to tell her with a rather bored yawn that Cosmo Canyon was a place that people came for solace and reflection, and that the only fun she would have was if she were a student of the stars.

"So you guys don't have anything recreational to do here?" she asked hopefully, her shoulders deflating and the young boy shook his head before returning to his previous position of slumbering behind the counter.

"You could always roast hot dogs at the bonfire," he suggested lazily, and Terra scrunched up her nose at the thought. She wasn't sure if she would be able to eat another one of those for a very long time.

A few hours later after she had walked the canyon at least twice, Terra found herself on the tallest peak standing against the wooden railing that separated her from a steep drop down the canyon-side. The deep rustic orange of the sky had drawn her there so she could gaze at the waning sun, and she had to laugh at the irony. Here she had come seeking a little excitement, and now she found herself completely relaxed, reflecting on the events of the past few weeks and actually enjoying it. There was something to be said about comforting silence, and she was glad that she had convinced Vincent to accompany her off of the secluded island.

But as content thoughts often do, they led her beyond the past few weeks and into previous months when she had fought vigorously with her father, tailing him like a yapping little dog as she voiced her adamant opinion about getting married. All she had wanted was for him to listen to her. Just once she had wanted him to see things from her point of view, but he had closed the argument before it had even begun, shouting her down with the instruction that she would marry if he had to tie her down.

Terra felt a warm tear slick down her cheek, but instead of wipe it away she let it drift until it stalled at her jawline. It dangled precariously as she clutched a ring that she had slipped deep into her pocket, hating what it represented yet unable to pitch it away. Fitting, she thought as the tear finally slipped free of her skin and she glanced over the railing at the rusty, red canyon below. She then gripped the weathered and splintered wood that kept her from toppling over the side, wondering vaguely if she was making the right decision or if she should just throw it all away.

"I would be careful if I were you," a familiar, brooding voice said from behind her and she turned to see Vincent standing at the small, almost rabbit-sized hole in the rock where the tips of a ladder could barely be seen peeking out of it. He then proceeded to divest himself of the rust-colored dust by brushing his hands down his cloak and pants before striding over to the railing. "Bughenagen enjoys telling a particularly intriguing story about a young canyon guide who didn't watch his step. Hence," he began as he motioned toward the hand-crafted wood. "The banister."

"Mm," Terra said with a nod, watching him from the corner of her eye as he gazed at the horizon. His angular features were even more striking in the waning light of the afternoon, and she had to stifle a grin at the thought that if she were to marry, she wanted her husband to look a lot like Vincent. "Thank you for your concern."

There was a long silence in which neither of them moved, both simply enjoying the other's company, and it wasn't until the sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon that Vincent finally spoke again. Turning just enough to glance at her, he opened his mouth then closed it, rethinking his words. "It's getting late. We should go before it gets too dark."

Terra had hoped he would say something more, perhaps inquire after why she was brooding on the highest peak in Cosmo Canyon because she truly wanted to tell him everything; why she had truly run from her father, and the true reasons behind the cocktail, or rather, engagement party. She needed a shoulder now more than ever, but just as she took hold of his forearm to keep him from walking away, a loud bark brought them both to look at the rabbit-hole. Red XIII was peering over the ladder at them, though it was obvious from the strained look on his face that keeping his grip on the rungs was growing increasingly difficult.

"Vincent. There's something that you should see," he said then quickly disappeared, though by the sound of a distant thud and an angry bark, Terra imagined that it wasn't exactly by choice.

Instructing Terra to stay put, Vincent followed Red down the rabbit-hole. It wasn't more than five minutes later that he returned, a fire burning in his eyes as he stared at her and Terra immediately felt like she needed to confess to something.

"You didn't tell anyone who you were, did you?" Vincent demanded, and once again Terra had the urge to pitch something into his face. Did he honestly believe she would be that stupid? Telling anyone would've presented the opportunity that they might just place a call to Midgar, and that was the last place in the world that she wanted to be under any circumstances.

"Why yes, Vincent, I intentionally sabotaged myself by informing the sweet young clerk in the materia shop that I was the governor's daughter and that I was on the run from his mercenaries," Terra said hotly, but she took a step back when an animal-like growl rumbled in Vincent's throat. "…Why?"

Without saying another word, he stalked over to her and scooped her up by the waist. Terra squealed with surprise and attempted to push off of him, but his grip was too strong, keeping her pinned to his side. It was all she could do to keep from screaming when he mounted the wooden railing and shifted her so that she could cling to his neck.

"What are you doing?" she demanded shrilly, clambering to get a better grip with both hands and wherever she could hook her feet, but Vincent still didn't answer.

Raising his arms, he pulled up the edges of his crimson cloak and pushed off of the railing with his toes, vaulting them both over the edge of the peak.


	7. Drifting

**Disclaimer:** The usual...they ain't mine...

**A/N:** Sorry for the delayed update. Mass Effect 2 ate up some serious brain cells the last couple of weeks, so it took awhile to get back into the FFVII frame of mind. As always, welcome back and enjoy!

**C**old wind bit at Terra's face and hands as the two of them plummeted rapidly down the side of the canyon. Terra desperately wanted to scream; her mouth was even open to allow such a sound to escape, only she couldn't force out any noise. Her voice seemed to be lost somewhere around her toes, and just when she began to think that at any moment they were going to splatter against the rock below, Terra's stomach bottomed out. Were they…floating?

_Though Vincent would likely call it __drifting__. Floating is too feminine a word_, Terra thought facetiously. She forced herself to crack an eyelid open, and what she saw confirmed it. They were _drifting_ over the broad expanse of the rusty canyon below them until the deep orange rock bled into lush green grassland and jagged mountains off to the north. Slowly they began to lose altitude, Vincent's cape flapping noisily in the wind as they descended, touching down a click or more shy of a narrow river.

Once Terra's feet touched the ground, she immediately planted herself down in the grass. Her legs still felt like jelly after the surprise vault from the observatory's peak, and she gaped at Vincent stupidly.

"How…?"

"It's not simply for aesthetics," he said so calmly that Terra thought he was being deliberately obtuse. There was no way that a cape could keep two people adrift for that long. At least…not without some seriously complicated modifications.

Terra didn't press the issue, however. She was still trying to locate the rest of her voice, but what little she had found evaporated when Vincent looped an arm around her and hauled her to her feet. They collided abruptly, and for the first time Terra was awarded with a clear view of his face. Flawless. Every facet, every nook and every cranny and severe angle came together in a seamless, porcelain visage that was devoid of a single wrinkle, and Terra had the crazy urge to ask him who his beautician was.

"I…" he began, faltered, then cleared his throat, and when his eyes finally met hers, Terra grew breathless at the rolling fire behind them. "I was wrong to accuse you," he finally finished, and his arm fell away from her waist.

Well, it wasn't exactly an apology, but Terra was willing to let it slide if it meant that future indiscretions brought them that close again.

"Uh…so what do we do now?" she stammered, palming her hip where the warmth of Vincent's hand still lingered. She didn't want it to fade. Glancing around, she then motioned to a village across the river that was nestled into the jagged mountains. "Maybe they have an inn that we could stay at."

"My cloak can help me glide, not fly," Vincent said as he began to adjust his various accoutrements. The gauntlet on his left hand chinked loudly in the silence that followed, and he glanced up at her when she continued to remain speechless. "In other words, using my cloak is out of the question if you want to make it there by nightfall which is…" –he looked up at the sky to judge the angle of the sun. "In less than an hour, give or take."

Terra continued to gape at him. He was serious? Walk three or four miles in these shoes? No. No, walking was absolutely out of the question, too, and yet Terra found herself trotting to catch up to his lengthy strides once he began walking in the direction of the river. Their little arrangement certainly wasn't a democracy, though it would've been nice if he had just asked if she wanted to make camp for the evening instead of walk, and while the day before she might have argued with him, it just wasn't in her to say anything. He had fulfilled his end of the bargain and then some; the least she could do was quit picking fights with him.

They trekked for over an hour until the sun began to disappear behind the mountains. Unable to walk anymore, Terra plopped down on the grass and toed off her shoes in order to rub at her throbbing feet. "Uncle," she moaned, causing Vincent to stop and turn. "Please. No more. I can't walk anymore. Can we just make camp here?"

Vincent once again looked at the sky then in the direction of Nibelheim. It was at least a few more hours before they reached even the outskirts, and so carrying her was out of the question. Not that that idea was particularly pleasing anyway, and so without a word, he began to gather a few rocks and long blades of grass to make a campfire, and by the time the stars began to twinkle brightly above them, bright orange flames crackled between the two of them.

"Those men," Vincent said after a long lapse in the conversation, and Terra blinked at him sleepily from her spot on the soft earth next to him. He looked so surreal in the orange low dancing over his face, and for a long moment she thought he was a dream. "You weren't exaggerating when you said mercenaries. Many of them carried rifles and multiple sidearms as if you were a dangerous criminal."

"Maybe they know about you already," Terra said with a sleepy grin as she stretched her legs out in front of her. She flexed her toes back and forth as she giggled softly, the image of Vincent fighting off a pack of fiends playing exotically in her mind. She didn't know much about him, the way he fought or the make-up of his past, but she didn't necessarily need to. Anyone who helped to defeat Sephiroth wasn't anyone to be trifled with, and she was pretty sure plenty of men weren't eager to witness his fighting style firsthand, let alone be on the receiving end of it.

Vincent didn't answer, only continued to stoke the fire as he mulled over her words. If they knew he was her keeper (no, guardian. He liked guardian much better), then they were likely close to finding out where the island was. Even if they weren't close yet, it was only a matter of time, and Vincent had to prepare himself for the probability of casualties.

By why? Was Terra really worth killing in order to protect? And just as the question ran across his mind, Terra leaned against him and curled herself about his upper right arm.

"Thank you," she said with a yawn, shutting her eyes as she turned her face into his cloak, and Vincent looked down at her. Without really knowing why, he reached over and touched his fingers to her emerald hair, lingering there much longer than he had originally intended to.

"You're welcome," he said quietly.


	8. His Lady's Regal Request

**Disclaimer:** The usual. They ain't mine.

**A/N:** Thank you, thank you for your lovely reviews! They really do brighten my day :) Well, a semi-shortish chapter today which is a little bit of filler until I can get the rest of chapter nine written up. It's a bit fluffy, but I like it :) As always, welcome back my lovely readers, and enjoy!

**B**y morning, Anouk had found them by their smoldering campfire, Terra curled up against Vincent's side with his arm draped lazily around her shoulders. After she had fallen asleep against him, Vincent couldn't bring himself to wake her, even as the fire had begun to burn down halfway through the night, and so he had simply allowed himself to drift off to sleep with her, dozing lightly in case of fiends or uninvited guests. Never once did he admit to himself, however, that he rather enjoyed the weight of Terra snoozing against him throughout the evening.

The golden chocobo nudged her master's shoulder and waarked in his ear to rouse him. With his free hand, Vincent ruffled the silky feathers on Anouk's head, and she waarked again, louder this time and Terra stirred at the noise. Refusing to wake yet, she groaned and buried her face into Vincent's side.

"Time to go," he said, though not very convincingly, and Terra groaned as she buried her face further into his side.

"Ten more minutes," she grumbled, swatting at empty air before letting her arm flop over Vincent's stomach. However, as inclined as he was to let her slumber, it wouldn't be long before their pursuers continued their hunt, and Vincent didn't want to give them ample opportunity to find them.

Shaking her firmly, he pushed her to roll onto her back then moved to stand up and she groaned again. "Is it morning already?" she asked, blinking into the bright morning sky. "Geez…I think I slept like a rock."

"You snored," Vincent stated flatly as he examined Anouk. He hadn't exactly meant it as it had sounded, but Terra still scoffed and he still felt inexplicably bad about letting it slip. He told people such things like that all the time, and yet Terra continued to prove to him that she wasn't just anyone.

"Well thank you, Casanova," she said, pushing up from the ground, and she proceeded to brush the dirt from her clothing. "Now I have one more complex to add to my ever-growing list. Oh and for the record? You do too."

Vincent cut his eyes at her, an argument on the tip of his tongue, but he held it when he saw the thin smile on her face. He couldn't argue with that. Instead, he hoisted himself onto Anouk's saddle and settled in before extending his hand for Terra to take.

"Oooo, where are we going?" she asked with that disarming smile curling her lips and Vincent stared at her. "…what? You didn't honestly think that just because a few mercenaries came to Cosmo Canyon I was going to just let you stuff me away on that island? No sir. The last place I want to be is alone and sitting in silence all day. Besides…I trust you."

Vincent straightened at the statement. No one had ever said that to him before, or even alluded to it at all. Cloud hadn't even attempted to leave the Black Materia in his care all those years ago, and yet there Terra stood, staring up at him with that brilliant smile and all of her faith cast upon him. For the first time in a long while, he carried that burden pleasantly, and he found that he couldn't deny her because of it.

"Where does M'lady wish to go?" he asked, looking away from her and towards the horizon. Terra grinned at him as she bit at her lower lip, loving his newly discovered sense of humor, stoic though it was, and she straightened regally.

"His lady requests a day of recreation in the Gold Saucer. I hear they have a lovely selection of activities."

Ugh. The very place Vincent had not wanted to take her. It was as if the woman had the uncanny ability to read his mind, but instead of argue, he merely helped her to mount Anouk behind him. As usual, she clamped her slender arms about his waist and held on tightly, squeezing him when he clicked his tongue to prompt the chocobo. They lurched forward toward Nibelheim, Vincent opting to take the mountains instead of cross back through the Canyon. For all he knew the mercenaries had decided to stay the evening and he wasn't about to risk a confrontation until it was unavoidable.

After all, how eventful could a day at the Gold Saucer really be?


	9. Small Talk

**Disclaimer:** None of these characters belong to me. Loan basis only.

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews :) As always, I greatly appreciate them and any comments for improvement. Welcome back my faithful readers, and please enjoy!!

**T**here was no denying, not even by Vincent, that the Gold Saucer was a sight to behold, especially at this time of the morning when the sky was a milky blue above the Corel Mountains and providing a perfect contrast to the blinking pink and green and yellow lights that littered the many leaves of the amusement park. If you listened hard enough, even from such a distance, you could just make out the many sounds of people squealing and money jingling when someone scored a jackpot. But Vincent hated the mirth and the ringing noises and the bright lights and he swore that if that fat chocobo flapped its useless wings and screamed "Welcome!" at him one more time that he would show the world what a chocobo brain looked like.

_Ah come on_, a voice inside him encouraged, surprising him and he looked at Terra dancing on the balls of her bare feet in the grass. _What are you going home to anyway? A bottle of rum and a sorry excuse for dinner called scrambled eggs?_

"I don't even know how to make scrambled eggs," he grumbled miserably under his breath as he continued to stare at Terra where she stood a few yards away, her eyes transfixed on the colossal gold construction. Forcing himself to look away, Vincent then turned toward Anouk and straightened the feathers that had gotten ruffled around her saddle. She waarked affectionately and nudged him before pulling away and trotting into Corel Village where a certain resident with a gun arm spoiled her with fresh greens.

"Is it true that there's a roller coaster up there?" Terra asked eagerly as she approached him, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and he nodded. He wasn't particularly fond of it, having ridden it with Cid once a few years ago and a small voice in the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Terra sternly instructed him to loosen up a little bit. "And a haunted house?"

Without another word, Vincent turned and started for the village, pausing a moment when he felt a petite hand grab his own. Willowy fingers threaded through his so naturally that they almost belonged, and Terra picked up their walking pace with a gentle pull against him, anxious to get to the gondola. Vincent followed along at a step behind her through the cluster of lean-tos and dusty tents where villagers were peddling their wares for the rare visitor to buy. Some even shouted for their attention, but Terra was on a mission, hopping up the three steps to the gondola platform where the large blue car awaited their arrival.

"I've wanted to come to the Gold Saucer since I was a little girl," she said as she nearly flattened herself against the broad window. Her hand had since left Vincent's and was now curled around the handrail to keep herself upright as the gondola lurched forward and upward, taking them into the sky.

Vincent took a seat against the wall to busy himself with polishing his gauntlet, unsure of what to say to further the conversation. Small talk wasn't exactly his thing, but he found he wasn't so opposed to letting Terra do most of the talking. He somewhat enjoyed it: the sound of her voice, the various inflections and emotions she attached to different words, though he doubted he would ever tell her.

"I remember reading a brochure about it once when my father took me to the Shin-Ra building," she continued, eyes searching the puffy cloud formations and pale colors cast upon them from the morning sun. "It was posted on a billboard in the lobby for everyone to see, but I was the only one interested." –she laughed and dipped her head slightly. "It was the first thing I ever stole. Well, the _only_ thing I ever stole, I guess. I hid it under my pillow until my mom found it when she was cleaning my room."

When she didn't continue, Vincent looked up from his gauntlet to see that she had sat down on the opposite seat from him, though she was still staring out the window. "Your parents never brought you?" he asked, surprising himself with the gentle tone of his question, and she looked at him with a slight smile on her face.

"No…I asked a few times but after awhile I let it go. Dad was always too busy and my mom…" –she cleared her throat. "No. They never brought me."

Music began to drift toward them as a broad shadow was cast over the gondola and Terra popped up from her seat to stick to the window once again. Very quickly they were swallowed by a short dark tunnel before slowly lurching to a stop in a cavernous room that was lit with bright yellow and pink lights, and with a loud hiss the door slid open to allow access. Terra bolted with a delighted yelp toward the entrance and Vincent followed at his usual slow pace as he dug around his pockets for his Gold Pass. He could never remember where he stuffed that thing considering he never, ever used it, and he finally pried it out of a thin pocket that was hemmed near his knee.

"Very good, sir," the girl at the entrance said upon seeing the card. She wore the largest, most artificial smile that Vincent quite possibly had ever seen, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Welcome to the Gold Saucer! Please remember –"

"We know the speech, thank you," he interjected quickly, motioning Terra inside and once she disappeared into the main lobby he followed her, anxious to avoid a confrontation with the bouncing chocobo. He didn't want to have to explain his actions to Dido.

The short tunnel emptied out into another cavernous room that was the Station, and Terra was already at the tall map that was nestled between two of the many colorful tube-openings leading to other areas of the Saucer. While Vincent had expected this, he didn't expect to see Tifa standing next to her with Marlene at her side, the three of them already engrossed in excited conversation. Vincent straightened, drew in a deep breath, and prepared himself for the gaiety that was undoubtedly to come from spending a morning at an amusement park. Upon joining them, he was immediately assaulted around the waist by little arms and a squeal of delight from Marlene as she hugged him, and Tifa grinned at him as she slugged his arm affectionately.

"Terra said she would take me on the roller coaster in Speed Square," Marlene said excitedly when she looked up at him, and Vincent patted her shoulder before cutting his eyes at Terra. Her bottom lip was pushed between her teeth to hide her smile, and she brushed her fluffy green hair behind her ear.

"Oh it'll be fine," she cajoled, seeing the look in his eyes. "What are the odds that they know we're here already? If it makes you feel better, you can hang out and be moody at the exit gate."

Once again, that disarming smile spread across her lips. She then held out a hand for Marlene to take, leading her off toward the tube that emptied out into Speed Square with a glance over her shoulder at Vincent, and he found that he couldn't look away from her until there was a firm nudge against his shoulder.

"I'm surprised that you're here," Tifa said, masking a pleased smile with her fingertips just as an excited scream echoed out of the tube across the room from them. "Barret and I thought you were going to ignore us again this year."

Hmph. He'd almost forgotten. Once a year Barret and Tifa traded off on taking Marlene to the Gold Saucer as a reward for making good grades in school, and for the past two years they had been trying to convince Vincent to meet them for the weekend. He had always declined, never citing an excuse only silently ignoring them.

"I did," he deadpanned, looking back at the tube as though Terra were still standing there helping Marlene to climb inside.

Tifa giggled but abruptly quieted when Vincent looked at her sharply, though a satisfied smile was on her face. "So that's it then? You came for her? Or are you going to try and tell me that you simply wanted a chance to win some GP in Wonder Square?"

"Mocking does not become you," he muttered, beginning to stalk away, but Tifa quickly grabbed his arm to keep him near.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm not used to seeing you so…social. It's a nice change to meet you somewhere by happenstance. Honestly, Vincent…it's encouraging more than anything."

"Yes, well…I can't say I'm not pleased to see you as well." –he paused a moment, and shifted his weight to the other foot. "How is Cloud?"

Was this how small talk worked? He wasn't quite sure, but he could get used to it, and he felt unusually amused at the surprised expression on Tifa's face at the question. He could get used to that feeling too, the amusement at a situation. It bubbled comfortably in his chest and made him want to smile, something he hadn't done in many years.

"He's…well, it's Cloud. He's never been anything but complicated, but he's doing well," Tifa said as they started for the Speed Square tube together. "Thanks."

Extending a hand, Vincent helped her to climb inside and she was immediately sucked out of sight. With another deep breath, he followed suit, emerging seconds later in Speed Square with a loud whoosh and three or four seconds of flight before landing on his feet near the ticket booth for the roller coaster. His cloak billowed around him upon landing, and he immediately examined the roller coaster to find the car that Terra and Marlene were riding in.

_Unnecessary worry_, he thought with a shake of his head, and he stalked past Tifa to take his place at the exit gate. _Terra's right. The odds of running into the mercenaries here are minimal_.

But that didn't keep him from glancing occasionally upwards, letting his eyes follow the car as it rocketed in and out of sight, and he absently began to rub at his palm where Terra's hand had once resided. He could still feel its warmth, the pressure where she had pressed her fingers between his own, and he touched each valley with his index finger as a tightness pulled at the corners of his mouth. Vincent Valentine was smiling.


	10. Decoys, Mercenaries and Gondolas, Oh My!

**Disclaimer:** The usual, although Zee and Bull are mine.

**A/N:** As always, thanks for your lovely reviews, and please enjoy!

**B**y noon, Terra had forgotten all about any pursuing mercenaries, instead allowing herself to get lost within Marlene's innocent excitement. She liked not worrying about it and the feeling of unadulterated freedom that came with being outside of Midgar's embrace, especially when that freedom was being protected by Vincent. More than once she had been tempted to grab his arm and drag him into the fray from where he stood on the outskirts of the merriment, but she knew that just wasn't him, and she detested the thought of forcing him to do anything. Too many years her father had forced her into situations without so much as her consent and she refused to try and do that with Vincent, compliant or not.

"Have you had your fill?" he asked with a cursory glance behind her after she had bounded up to him. The arcade was alive with activity and she had spent the majority of the last few hours scurrying around with Marlene pumping GP into the games, but the bells and the chimes had begun to take their toll, pounding mercilessly in her ears, and a headache was threatening at her temples from the excessive stimulation.

"I suppose," she said with a slight grimace and a shrug as she looked at Marlene still playing with the holographic sumo wrestler. She then looked back at Vincent. "Are you sure you didn't want to do anything? Like the Battle Arena or something? I feel selfish dragging you here just for me."

"No, thank you," Vincent said. He had seen enough of the Battle Arena to last a short lifetime after all the time spent there during the quest to defeat Sephiroth and the multiple Weapons. The place had been nothing less than a necessary evil and he was quite sure he could die content without ever seeing so much as the lobby again. "This was M'Lady's request. I'm not here for me."

Truer words had never left his lips and he almost allowed himself another thin smile upon seeing her face brighten at his second attempt at lightheartedness. He could get used to seeing that smile directed at him.

"Ooo, what a great line," Terra said with a laugh. "I bet all the girls swoon at that one."

"Actually, you're the first," he answered, finding that he enjoyed the banter. Terra made it seem so easy, so natural. "I've been told that I can be rather intimidating."

"Intimidating? Nonsense." –Terra waved a hand dismissively between them before letting that hand fall lightly on his arm. Vincent raised an eyebrow and glanced at it, not minding the contact just as he hadn't minded when she had taken hold of his hand in Corel. In fact he had a notion to take hold of her hand now, missing the feel of their fingers threaded together. "I say you're misunderstood," she added with a smile.

"And you think you understand me?" he asked quietly, wishing that she hadn't taken her hand away as she folded her arms together. He looked at her curiously when she simply continued to smile and shook her head before starting off into the games to retrieve Marlene.

Not long after leaving the arcade, the three met up with Tifa downstairs where she stood near the tubes leading to the other leaves of the park. A clump of cotton candy was in her hand that she promptly offered to Marlene upon their arrival and she looked at each of them in turn. Vincent was the only one who didn't appear to be exhausted.

"Well Marlene. You ready to go?" Tifa asked, reaching out and flicking a lock of the young girl's hair. "I think your father's fixing your favorite dinner tonight."

And suddenly the Gold Saucer was no longer as important as it had been ten seconds ago, and Marlene grasped Tifa's hand to lead her back toward the Station. Tifa waved back at the other two with a lingering goodbye and the instruction that Terra needed to call in a few days; the nightclub beneath her bar had just been finished and she would be hosting a grand opening party soon.

"So, are you going to fix me my favorite dinner tonight?" Terra asked teasingly as the two strolled toward the Station tube, pausing at the entrance.

"That depends on if you like your dinner burnt or extra burnt," Vincent deadpanned, and Terra laughed as she leaned into him.

"Ooo another joke. I think you're finally coming around, Vincent."

Pushing off of him, she stuck out a foot in order to drop herself into the tube when Vincent suddenly grabbed her forearm and held her firmly against his side. From the corner of his eye he had seen a familiar dark blue suit zip in and out of the shadows, its figure the same as the man that had shown up in Cosmo Canyon. How he and his merry band of mercenaries found them already was beyond Vincent, but he wasn't willing to find out until Terra was safely out of the Gold Saucer.

"Vincent, what-?" she began but he quickly shushed her.

"Take the tube to the Station and ride the gondola down to Corel. Do not wait for me. Barret's tent is on the top tier toward the edge of town."

"No, I'm not lea-"

"Terra," he cut across her and she looked up at him, her brow creased with concern, but when she met his eyes, the concern shifted to understanding.

"Okay," she relented quietly. With a hop, she fell into the tube and was immediately whisked away toward the Station where Vincent hoped she wouldn't linger. He had a very bad feeling about this man tracking them and he wasn't anxious to find out why.

Turning around, he stalked back toward the elevator that led up to the arcade. Chaos tingled enticingly at his fingertips as he waited for the inevitable confrontation, and he shut his eyes to quell the temptation. Not yet. Not here. Not until it was absolutely necessary, and so he continued to stand in front of the elevator as though waiting on it to arrive until the blue suited figure finally slipped out of the shadows once more. Vincent pounced quickly, his body moving faster than any eye could follow, and he slammed the figure up against a nearby wall, holding him there with his gilded forearm.

"Who are you?" he growled, staring hard at the man's face and the latter squeezed his eyes shut as a shudder rippled through his body.

"I'm just a decoy, I swear!" he shouted shrilly, holding up his hands in surrender and flattening the side of his face against the wall as though it would protect him from harm. "I was told to find you and draw you out. Zee and Bull are probably down in the Station with her now."

Deep inside, Chaos threatened to erupt and Vincent clung to what little control he still held over the beast. With a loud cry, he threw the Suit to the ground and bolted for the tube, and within seconds he was in the Station, his cloak still swirling about him like an angry cloud. The girl at the entrance saw him and quickly thrust a finger in the direction of the gondola.

"They've already left with her," she said, but Vincent barely heard her as he stalked through the entrance and toward where the cables for the gondola were exposed far above his head. After a quick glance at them, he jumped and grabbed hold with his gauntlet, and all those who were still lingering in the cavernous room watched with awe as he slid down the cable to catch up to the large blue car.

It was already a quarter of the way toward the village below and traveling at a quick speed, but Vincent was faster and his cloak whipped loudly in the wind behind him as his gauntlet screeched with friction around the steel cable. The two sounds together created an eerie kind of song to accompany him, its finale being a heavy thud as he landed on the roof, and the gondola swayed dangerously back and forth, nearly tipping him off. A bullet-hole exploded through the thick steel beneath his feet, but Vincent side-stepped it easily and waited for another gunshot. Another hole exploded a few centimeters away creating the perfect weak spot for Vincent to plunge his hand through and he took full advantage. The steel seemed to melt, bending easily as he pulled it to create a large enough opening to slip through, and after dodging another bullet, he dropped inside.

"Bull, I presume?" he asked, addressing the larger of the two men that were standing near the window, and after grabbing Bull's collar with his left hand, Vincent hooked his red-hot gauntlet directly into the man's nose. Bull stumbled backward with both hands clamped over his face, but Vincent didn't spare him a second thought as he turned to Zee who was fumbling to reload his rifle. The latter managed to aim it, only he wasn't quick enough to get off another shot before Vincent wrenched the hammer free of the firing mechanism and threw it away.

Zee took a few steps back, unsure of what to do with his muscle having been incapacitated in the seat behind him, but Vincent was far from finished. Jerking the useless gun from him, he grabbed Zee by the shirt and flung him against the wall much like he had done their little decoy, only this time he dug his gauntlet firmly against Zee's neck.

"You tell her father to lay off," he warned in a low voice, and Zee swallowed hard as his skin paled.

"This won't end well," Zee said after a few uneasy breaths. "For either of you."

With a growl, Vincent tossed him like a ragdoll into Bull then turned to where Terra was sitting in the opposite seats. They had gagged her and bound her hands and ankles, and once Vincent had worked the knot free from her wrists, she sprang to her feet and hugged his neck. He held her for a long moment, thankful she was okay, but that didn't appease the spark that had ignited inside of him from the whole situation.

"I told you not to linger," he scolded, pulling away as the gondola reached its destination, and the doors slid open with a hiss. Terra stared after him as he walked outside, somewhat stunned by his sudden chastising and she quickly untied her ankles in order to chase after him. This was vaguely reminiscent of his not-quite-apology the day before, only this time Terra wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"Now wait just a minute," she called as she hurried to catch up. "What makes you so confident that I did hang around the Station? You think I'm that stubborn that I would jeopardize yours and my safety?"

"You're reckless," he argued without looking at her, and he continued to stride across the platform and down the steps back into Corel. "And as you accurately deduced: stubborn. I seriously hope that you don't expect another rescue of that magnitude again, especially if you continue to disregard –"

Terra laughed loudly over his words, bringing him to a severe halt, eyes aflame as he shot a burning look at her.

"Ha! If you were so put out by the whole situation then you should've just let them take me."

"Perhaps I should have," he returned hotly, although that small voice in the back of his mind was picking away at his resolve, reminding him that even if Terra were a hundred feet beneath the sea and sinking, he would die from drowning before abandoning her. She just had that kind of effect on him, and the fact that she was now returning verbal jabs at him was not helping matters; he liked their heated debates, and he had the suspicion that she liked them too.

Terra huffed out a few heavy breaths as she continued to stare him down, her emerald hair dancing on the light breeze, and Vincent couldn't help but watch it. A moment later, she planted her hands on her hips and blinked a few times before finally speaking again.

"So I guess this means no extra burnt dinner tonight, hm?"

And there it was, the look she loved: sheer incredulity, because Terra was fairly certain that she was the only one who could create it. She knew that picking at him was probably dangerous, for Vincent's temper was more volatile than a firecracker, but she couldn't help it. Watching him control that internal flame was exciting.

"If you want any dinner, you're going to have to make it yourself," he said, and he turned away from her and started for the edge of town, unable to help shaking his head.

It was going to be an interesting next few days.


	11. Costa Del Sol Redux

**Disclaimer:** Everyone belongs to Squaresoft/enix, not me :)

**A/N:** Thank you for your wonderful reviews :) Mwah, they make me smile. Well, I wasn't quite sure where this chapter was headed when I started it because my original idea just didn't make sense (trust me...), but I think it turned out really well. As always, welcome back everybody and please enjoy :)

**T**he sun was hot overhead as Cid Highwind sat on the back veranda of the restaurant in Costa del Sol, his feet propped up on the edge of his brightly tiled table as he leaned back in his chair. Hot was actually an understatement; sweltering seemed to be a more fitting piece of vocabulary and he blinked at the sky with his hand casting a useless swatch of shade over his eyes. Whew, it might even be hot enough to light a cigarette with the right angle, and just the thought of it made him smack his lips in anticipation. He had already finished one, but after all…a man couldn't enjoy a good whisky without equally good nicotine saturation.

Dipping into his shirt pocket, Cid pulled out a soft pack of cigarettes and tapped one free to take between his lips. With a quick flick of his wrist, he struck a match on the wooden edge of the table and made the flame dance back and forth, igniting the rolled tobacco. With a short puff then a long drag, he then leaned back further in his chair to balance it on two legs and continued to wait, his eyes gazing at the ocean as he tried not to think about the blazing sun above him burning bright red patches into his exposed skin. He hated waiting. He was a man of action, like dynamite explosions and barroom brawls, but Vincent was a man of very few requests, so when he called Cid late just last night, the latter didn't ask questions, and if Vincent needed him to wait now, then that's what he would do.

With another slow drag on his cigarette, Cid turned away from the view only to swear out loud upon what he saw. Boots thudding on the veranda, Cid let his chair abruptly rest on all fours again as he gaped at the chair across the table for who else was sitting there but Vincent, his back to the ocean and raven hair covering his profile as he furtively tucked something inside his cloak.

"How do you do that?" he demanded, and he swore again, tapping the ashes from the tip of his cigarette.

Vincent didn't respond, only waved his hand at the haze of smoke that lingered around the table. It was a habit he never liked but he tolerated it for Cid; the man was nothing if he wasn't a chain smoker.

"Right," Cid said as he straightened and he motioned toward a manila folder that was on the table next to his whisky glass. "I found the information you asked for. It's uh…well, it's enlightening."

Vincent took the folder and flipped it open, quickly scanning the first page and then the second. What he saw was not encouraging. "With the slums destroyed by Meteor, those that can't keep up with the upper class have nowhere to go."

"They're starting to overrun the socially elite. Take over," Cid added darkly. "Terra's father can't govern who doesn't believe in him anymore, especially one who's governed the last few years with tyranny, and you know, Terra might not even know. From what you tell me, she was pretty isolated from everything."

"Then it can't be her father who is after her," Vincent said. "If he's losing influence, no one would ever accept his money for something as petty as retrieval."

The truth hung between them like a rank odor and Vincent grimaced as a puff of smoke drifted in his direction. With another wave of his hand, he looked over the file again. "But that still doesn't explain their haste to the Gold Saucer. It's one of the reasons I agreed to take her at all."

"That ain't what I heard," Cid grinned and only laughed when Vincent looked at him darkly. "Look, this Zee guy is smart. I checked in to him while I was diggin' through the Highwind's old records for you." –he flicked a scrap of paper at Vincent that contained a few notes that he had scratched down in haste. "He's a former Turk. The president used him for the less publicized hunt and retrieve situations. You know how Tseng was good with PR and red tape? Well, Zee wasn't, if you get me."

Vincent's brow furrowed at the information. He remembered those days of clandestine retrieval, the days when bringing them back alive wasn't exactly a priority, and it made him think of how he had fought against doing those kinds of jobs when he had joined the Turks. He had preferred those that had made him feel like he was actually doing something for the greater good. Kind of like what he was doing now, he supposed.

"Wait," he said abruptly as his eye passed over a messy scrawl of letters. "This lettering. . What is this?"

"Thought maybe you'd know. It was in Zee's file, like the lettering in yours." –he laughed at the look Vincent gave him. "What? You didn't expect me _not_ to look, did you?"

But Cid was right. Vincent did know what it meant. It was a code, a simple monogram to identify the particular project, followed by a monogram of the head scientists involved, and it was stamped to a Turk's file to keep record of his assignments in the rare case of an "unfortunate mishap." There was only one way to know what the monogram stood for and that was to be privy to the information, but there was one thing that Vincent was sure of: the letter "H."

"Do you have access to project information?" Vincent asked, his index finger tapping a rhythm beneath the monogram.

"I had a feeling you might ask that," Cid grinned, one eye narrowing as smoke curled up from his cigarette into his face, and he flicked his index finger toward the file in Vincent's hand. The latter turned the page to find a long list of projects and their corresponding codes, and he scrolled all the way down to the M's. There it was. : Mako Serum Implant, overseen by Professor Hojo and monitored by Professor Kline. "Anything useful?"

"Maybe," Vincent murmured, his brow creasing. Something wasn't settling well with him. "And Terra? Did you find anything in Shin-Ra's old records on her?"

Again, Cid flicked his index finger at the folder, and Vincent looked at the final page that the crusty old pilot had provided for him. There was a small square picture in the left-hand corner and Vincent touched his fingers to it upon recognizing a few subtle features of the person pictured; it was Terra, though slightly younger, but there was no mistaking her even without the emerald green hair and sea-green eyes. Instead, they were a rich brown that rivaled the velvety color of chocolate.

Beside and below the photograph was varying information, a lot of it trivial such as her weight and height and dietary habits, but the rest had been mostly corrupted or blacked out. There were a few tidbits that were interesting, though without context they didn't make much sense. That is until his eye caught the same project monogram beneath her photograph: , and Vincent suddenly understood the ill feeling in his stomach.

"She was an experiment," he said, more so to himself than to Cid, but the latter nodded anyway.

"It'd make sense. New governor looking to impress the president so he offers his daughter up for an experiment. Looks like she was the perfect specimen: young, never been in the slums and had likely never been sick with anything serious. I just wonder what Shin-Ra did to her."

Nothing good, Vincent thought as his body grew tense, and he curled his fingers into a tight fist. If Hojo weren't already dead, he soon would've been. Did his experimentation know no bounds? Young babies? An innocent Cetra? A young girl, suppressed by her father? The Planet was better with his loss.

"Might I ask another favor?" he said, slapping the folder closed and looking directly at Cid. "The experiment involved device implantation. I have the feeling they must be tracking her that way and I may need your assistance in removing it."

"Ten-four, Hoss," Cid said, and the two then agreed to meet in the Villa in less than half an hour.

Standing up, Vincent extended a hand for Cid to take and they shook firmly, all of Vincent's gratitude rolled up in the simple act. Cid then turned to stub out his cigarette and when he turned back, Vincent was gone, along with any trace of himself.

_No wonder he was suspicious. The man's like a ghost_, Cid thought with a quiet laugh and he leaned back in his chair. Tapping out another cigarette, he lit up and fixed his gaze back on the ocean.

Only a few yards away from the restaurant, Terra was standing on the short bridge that connected the docking yard with the village while she gazed at the scenery for the second time. The sun was hot and the wind minimal, making her feel like she was baking slowly, but she didn't mind it as much as she thought she might. The lack of noise and wild activity was refreshing, and Terra breathed deep the fresh, briny sea-air that relaxed her further. She liked it here with absolutely nowhere to go, and having all day to do absolutely nothing.

Glancing right, she admired the docking yard where a bright red seaplane was being refueled, and a bikini-clad goddess was sunbathing on one of the broad wings. There was also a large freighter being relieved of its cargo, and a few modest-sized sailboats tempted Terra for a lazy sail onto the open ocean. She imagined that it was quite the experience, and made a mental note to pester Vincent about it later, but not today. He deserved a break after the previous night of pure, unadulterated, amazing heroism. Every girl needed to have that experience at least once in her life: a knight in crimson armor swooping in to save the kidnapped damsel. It was exhilarating.

A cool breeze blew past her, and Terra closed her eyes a moment to enjoy the wind sifting through her hair, and the laziness of the day. When she opened her eyes again, she startled upon seeing a flicker of crimson, and with a quick turn of her head she smiled. Vincent stood next to her, his hands on the stone railing as his dark eyes studied the village below.

"You startled me," she said with a gentle laugh. "I didn't even hear you."

"You trust me, yes?" he asked abruptly without looking at her, and Terra recoiled slightly. Whatever he was about to build up to, she wasn't so sure she was going to like it. Nevertheless, it was a very simple question with an even simpler answer, and she nodded.

"Of course," she added for good measure. A long silence followed that unnerved her, but she waited patiently for a response, knowing that now was not a good time to pressure him. Vincent seemed more tense, preoccupied, and that, more than his silence, unnerved her.

With a sharp breath, Vincent finally looked at her from over the collar of his cloak, and a moment later Terra felt his hand on her elbow. It was an unusually gentle touch, his palm molding around the bend of her arm so naturally like it belonged, and her stomach fluttered.

"They're tracking you," he said at length. "At first I thought I was being careless, but after speaking with Cid I learned that these mercenaries must be using a type of device that can pinpoint your location."

"So why aren't they here now?"

Vincent let his silence be his answer, but he didn't look away from her. There was no possible way she couldn't have known; an implant wasn't the type of procedure even Shin-Ra could hide from someone. All the same, Vincent couldn't imagine Terra hiding that little tidbit if she was trying to run away. In all likelihood, getting rid of the implant would have been her first order of business before skipping out of Midgar.

"When you were a girl," he began, but Terra cut him off with a swat against his hand, and she took a few steps backward.

"You nosed through my records without consulting me?" she demanded. "What happened back then is no one's business."

So she did know. That was going to make things a little easier. "It is my business if they're tracking your implant."

"That's ridiculous. The project ended when Professor Kline was reassigned to the Cetra Project with Hojo and the others. Besides, the second implant wasn't a tracking device. It was just a vital signs uploader…"

Terra trailed off as it slowly came together, and she dazedly looked at her forearm. "It would upload every morning after I ate, or before noon. Whichever came first."

"Have you eaten?"

Terra shook her head slowly, still feeling dazed and stupid for not thinking of it before. "But…but the project was abandoned. They told me I wasn't being monitored anymore. Shin-Ra was supposed to shut down my uploader."

"Hmph. And I have a sunny disposition," Vincent said. He took her hand and led her into the Villa nearby, and Terra blinked rapidly at the sudden lack of sunlight upon stumbling through the front door. "Shin-Ra promised many things, delivering on very few of them. It is not surprising that your uploader is still active."

"So what does that mean? What do we do?"

"We play doctor," a gravelly voice answered her.

Terra squawked with surprise upon seeing Cid standing next to the couch, a smoking cigarette stuck in the corner of his mouth and a dangerous glint in his eye. The sleeves of his blue shirt were rolled just above his elbows as though he was preparing to get his hands dirty, and with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows, he motioned toward the couch. There, he had set up a pillow and a thin blanket, and on the coffee table was an array of first aid materials that didn't look promising.

"Oh no," Terra said with a fervent shake of her head. "No, no, no. I saw what you did to those hot dogs and the way you cut those potatoes."

"Relax," Cid laughed as he plucked the cigarette from his mouth, and he winked. "You won't feel a thing when I take the arm off."

"Cid," Vincent said warningly as he led Terra to the couch, and she sat down with a heavy plop. They weren't serious. They couldn't be serious.

"Aw, I'm just yankin' her chain," Cid said, and he slugged her shoulder to indicate that it had simply been a joke. "No worries, right? Vinnie here'll put you to sleep before he does anything."

_Oh how reassuring_, she thought with a giddy laugh when she saw the sharp paring knife on the table. Next to it was an ampoule of cool blue liquid that Terra recognized but had never used before. It was hard to come by, and generally only used by travelers, and she swallowed hard. They were serious. Holy cheesy crackers, they were really serious.

"I can't do this," she said, her heart quickening in her chest, and she moved to stand up, but Cid stopped her before she could get to her feet. He then began to explain that she needed to calm down; they were going to put her to sleep with ether, but if she wasn't calm then the ether would only make her sick. While he meant the explanation to ease her nerves, it hardly helped, and her heart rate continued to quicken as Cid coached her to lie down. "Really," she interrupted him, pushing at his shoulder and trying to sit up. "I don't think I can do this."

And suddenly Vincent was beside her, his palm against her cheek and his mouth so close to her ear she could feel his warm breath. When he spoke, every ounce of air in Terra's lungs deflated in a soundless sigh and her heart gradually calmed.

"You trust me, yes?" he asked again, and she nodded with a hard swallow. Before she knew it, a cool cloth covered her nose and mouth, but Vincent hadn't moved. His quiet voice continued to gently instruct her to breathe steadily until he sounded a thousand miles away, and Terra spiraled into a dark and dreamless sleep.


	12. What Once was Thought Innocent

**Disclaimer:** None of these guys are mine except for Jack and Professor Kline.

**A/N:** Welcome back! Thanks for the reviews! They inspire me, and every writer loves inspiration (hint, hint, nudge, nudge). I hope this chapter satisfies as much as it satisfied me writing it :) (after all, who doesn't like a little conspiracy, eh?) As always, please enjoy!

**I**t took nearly a week for Terra to recover from the impromptu surgery; a mild infection had given her a fever and kept her bedridden and drowsy for most of that time, but by the weekend she was up and walking around. A make-shift sling had been made from a pillow case to support her arm, and the front had been christened with thick black lettering that read, "Cid _wuz_ here." The gauze on her arm had been christened as well by the same sloppy chicken-scratch, only it boasted that "Vincent _wuz_ here," instead.

After getting dressed for the morning and reaffixing her sling, Terra smiled and touched her fingers to the lettering as she made her way toward the kitchen. She let the pads of her fingertips trace the individual letters a moment before finally pushing through the swinging door leading into a breakfast nook splashed with morning sunshine. Golden beams warmed the table and illuminated a dusty, leather-bound notebook that sat atop it, and nearby sat a cup of smoldering coffee and two packets of sugar in the raw. Terra paused to stare at the cluster of items a long moment, smiling at the gesture. Apparently Vincent thought that she was still angry about him peeking at her records, and this was his idea of a peace offering. That idea alone made her curious as to what was in the book and she peered at it from where she stood a foot or more away. On the front was an amalgam of letters stamped with blue ink and they were contained inside a compact little box. , whatever that meant, and Terra moved to flip the cover open. It revealed a picture of herself as a girl, making her laugh outright at what she saw. She'd actually had brown hair once.

"Like I could really stay mad at you, Vincent," she said quietly with a happy sigh, and she palmed the book as she sat down. After gathering up her coffee, she then took a slow sip and began to read the information, though she hardly found anything surprising. It seemed to be a simple summary of the original experiment performed, but she continued to peruse it anyway, leaning back in her chair as she propped the book against the table and her lap.

_----  
Scientist in charge of oversight__:__Professor Hojo overseeing Professor Kline__  
Test subject__: Terra Brandford  
__Status__: volunteered by father, Governor Brandford, by suggestion of Shin-Ra insurance representatives.  
__Reason for Volunteer Status__: Severe night terrors resulting in sleepwalking. Subject's brother is convinced night terrors and sleepwalking will lead to fatal injury. __Note__: reason for terrors attributed to the death of the test subject's mother.  
----_

There was more information listed that Terra preferred to skip, remembering all-too-well the reasons that her brother was convinced the experiment was the right way to go. While her father had been supportive as well, it had been her brother, Jack, that had held her hand through most of the ordeal. Especially after what had happened shortly before they had gone to the medical labs seeking assistance. Sometimes she wondered how she and her brother had survived.

Taking another sip of her coffee, Terra turned the page but she immediately sat up with coffee dribbling down her chin upon what she read.

_----  
Doctor's Notes__: __X Month, X Day, X Year__  
Terra's night terrors are alarming, but I'm confident that the Mako will help. It alters brain function and disrupts the flow of norepenephrine enough to affect REM sleep, though I doubt that Hojo will hardly be impressed. He's not interested in positive side-effects. Terra is merely a means by which to further his ambitions, and while I hope to shield Terra from this, it won't be easy. She's quite an inquisitive little girl._

_-__Y Month, Y Day, X Year__  
Implantation went off without a hitch. Mako Serum device is fusing well with the brain stem. Even better than expected, in fact, and Terra is already experiencing fewer terrors. Hojo wants a faster infusion rate, but any more Mako in an hour period will likely kill her as fast as the others, and I refuse to allow Terra to become another subject number. She baked me and the staff cookies the other day and had Jack bring them by the lab as gratitude. I can only pray that she can forgive me if she were to ever know the truth.  
----_

Terra savagely turned to the next page only to find that the information wasn't about her at all, but rather it was original experiment data on test subjects that were merely listed as Subjects One thru Ten. "No," she muttered, sitting up abruptly and her elbow bumped her knee, causing her to hiss at the spasm of pain that traveled throughout her arm. "No, no, no," she ground out through clenched teeth, and hot tears sprang to her eyes.

_----  
Parameters of Experiment_: _To develop a device capable of fusing Mako energy with red blood cells.  
__Hypothesis__: Mako serum will diffuse through the body via device. Nerves will absorb and carry Mako cells throughout the body, subsequently allowing fusion of Mako energy with human red blood cells. This fusion will ultimately create a SOLDIER capable of nearly inhuman strength._

_Doctor's Notes__: __A Month, A Day, X Year__  
Subject One (S1) shows little promise due to obstinate attitude. Not surprising. He was convicted of siphoning money straight from the president's personal bank account, so being a part of this experiment is not by choice. However, I'm confident that the serum injection will take regardless. Even reluctant members of SOLDIER easily absorb the Mako energy from the shower they are given._

_-__A Month, K Day, X Year__  
Who would have thought? Experiment yielded completely unexpected results! It's amazing! After implanting the device, the Mako serum immediately injected itself into S1's brain stem and just today he cast a freezing spell without the aid of materia! Dr. Hojo assures me that this is promising news and to keep monitoring S1's progress. I can't wait to see if S1 can conjure up these spells at will or if this infusion of Mako is only random bursts of power._

_-__A Month, O Day, X Year__  
Found S1's body in his cell yesterday. Autopsy confirms death due to Mako infusion. Serum causes significant neural decay prior to death, eventually leading to a severe aneurism in the occipital lobe due to uncontrolled infusion rate. I should have seen this coming. S1 exhibited unusual signs of Alzheimer's Disease, along with loss of basic motor skills. Will alter testing parameters and device diffusion for future subjects. Dr. Hojo has already approved plans for slower secretions and subsequent fusion with the brain stem._

_-__Q Month, C Day, X Year__  
S10 was found yesterday, his brain no different than prior subjects. I'm confident that the increased testosterone in the body is the culprit, and I believe that a female test subject will survive the Mako infusion. My assistant is currently in talks with Shin-Ra insurance reps to refer a viable client.  
----_

She couldn't breathe. Her chest felt like a thousand bricks had just been laid down on her breastbone, and she didn't even realize that rich black coffee was pooling all over the table. A mirror. She needed a mirror, so Terra ran to the bathroom and threw open the door. In a flurry of limbs and bobby pins, Terra managed to pin her hair atop her head in messy green clumps before stooping low to scramble around beneath the sink. She finally got her hands on a square mirror and held it up in order to gaze at the reflection of her back in the wall mirror behind her. Running from the soft curve of her spine between her shoulder blades was a thin white scar that split her back until it vanished into her hairline, and she raised her arm to put her fingers over the scar, ignoring the sharp pain that seemed to knife straight through to her wrist.

The scar was so old and stretched that she couldn't feel it anymore, but in her mind she could still imagine the way it used to feel each and every time she would rub her neck, the way it would prod her skin as it traveled underneath her moving palm. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have thought that Shin-Ra would care about a little girl's night terrors enough to design a special experiment just for her? It had all been a lie; no one had cared about the death of her mother or the sleepwalking or the lengths that Jack had gone to in order to get her help. Terra had been a pawn, nothing more, and the realization made her stomach ache.

"Why?" she asked, looking at the door where Vincent now stood gazing at her, and he arched an eyebrow. Moving further into the bathroom, he reached out his hand and placed it over the nape of her neck where the scar was the thickest and he held it there.

"The promise of fear. Threaten with force and people will comply with almost anything, and you?" –Vincent turned her to face him and plucked the mirror from her hands to set it aside. "You were merely a means by which to harness more fear and Shin-Ra exploited that. It is what they did best."

"And what am I to you, Vincent?" she demanded softly, a tear streaking her cheek but she didn't bother wiping it away. More were sure to come soon enough. "Am I nothing more than someone to babysit?"

There was no answer, not even a warning. Without wasting another word, Vincent stooped slightly and captured her mouth in a firm kiss. The hand on her neck slid upward to cradle the base of her head as his gauntlet swept around to encircle her waist and Terra easily fell against him. Suddenly the truth of the experiment wasn't quite as important as it had been mere seconds ago, and she couldn't help the grin that lifted her mouth against his own.

"That's right I forgot. You prefer guardian," she said and Vincent wet his lips with a slow flick of his tongue. Oh how she loved picking at him.

"Someone really must teach you to keep more quiet," he bantered somewhat breathlessly, his breath hot against her skin, and Terra's smile widened slightly.

"And someone ought to teach you the art of a sensual kiss. Honestly, Vincent. How long has it been?"

"Oh…too long. Too long…"

And he kissed her again, this time so agonizingly soft that Terra thought she might just explode. Where did a man learn to kiss a woman like this? But even that didn't matter now, because the feel of Vincent against her, his mouth covering her own had forced a decision that she hadn't been ready to debate until now. After two months of freedom and one of unexplainable love, Terra now had no plans to ever step foot in Midgar again.


	13. Awake

**Disclaimer:** Vincent and Terra are property of Squaresoft. Jackknife, however, is all mine :)

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay, but life, as always, finds a way to get in the way. I'm already working on chapter fourteen, so hopefully I can update within the next few days to make up for the month lapse. Welcome back my friends :)

**T**he kiss they had shared together in that small bathroom early in the morning had amounted to only that: a heated exchange between chaos and serenity, or what had once been serenity, and nothing more. Terra wasn't even sure what had ended it, only that Vincent was now gone and she felt a little colder than she did when he was around. She didn't like that feeling; it made her feet drag and her breath come in slower breaths than usual, and it kept her from venturing outside to stroll the beach as she had initially wanted to that morning.

The Villa was quiet as she took a hot shower. It was silent as she got dressed, a silence that became deafening as noon came and passed, and Terra finally clicked on a radio. The old speakers crackled and hissed with white noise as she adjusted the dials until she finally managed to pick up some music. It was light and upbeat, elevating her mood, and she began to waltz around the living room with an imaginary Vincent in her outstretched arms. The act made her feel a bit silly, but Terra couldn't help but smile as his invisible figure swept her back and forth, side to side, around the cushy chair and finally around the coffee table where the perfect dip would have taken place followed by the slowest, firmest kiss she could imagine.

Terra continued to sway, her eyes now closed even as the music ended and the disc jockey began to relay the recent news. None of it was very interesting, not that Terra was much of a current events follower anyway, but it was rare any news that came out of the Media Wire was good news. It wasn't until he mentioned Midgar that she slowly stopped swaying and opened her eyes to listen. "…and finally out of Midgar today, tragedy has once again struck the governor's family. Jack Brandford, also known as Jackknife among his extreme sports fans, was in a late-night car wreck. Authorities are not confirming any reports but have revealed that alcohol may have been a factor. In a statement released just this morning, Governor Brandford denied the claims as he lamented the loss of his only son. He implored the public to give his family peace at this time and still holds out hope for the return of his daughter, Terra. You're listening to KLBSmooth, Costa del Sol's choice for news, weather, and oh-so-smooth tunes."

Terra's entire body flushed with severe heat, making her head swim violently, and without warning she swayed back onto the couch and fainted.

_

* * *

_

The elevator gently coasted to a stop on the sixtieth floor and quietly announced its arrival to its single occupant. Blinking slowly, Terra stood for a long moment without moving until the doors began to slide shut, and she started to leave, barely missing being clipped on the shoulder by one of the doors. She walked with a steady gait, almost rhythmically, across the expansive floor to another elevator shaft that led to the upper floors of the Shin-Ra building. It was where her parents worked long hours and where Terra often imagined that her father would live if he could get away with it. He didn't like being home that often.

_Without much thought, Terra reached into her pocket and pulled out an almost razor-thin keycard as she stepped into the elevator. It was made completely of glass to allow an unadulterated view of the Midgar skyline, a sight to behold at night. Only Terra hardly seemed interested in gazing at the blinking lights of the highway or the vivid, dizzying array of colors that painted the night sky from downtown where a production of Loveless was in full swing. Slipping the keycard into the console, Terra dialed the sixty-third floor and rode it in silence until it dinged their arrival, and allowed her to step into the company's Hall of Records. The entire floor was dark with only the individual record room's ID plate lit, and Terra touched each one as she passed it until reaching the far end of the floor. Much like the elevator, the wall was nothing more than glass for the occasional visitor to gaze at the skyline while on lunch-break and Terra pressed her palm to it, barely feeling the frigid chill from the winter wind outside._

_"That is absolutely out of the question, Scarlet," a woman's voice said loudly just as the overhead lights buzzed to life, illuminating the entire library with washed out light. Terra scrambled out of the way and hid inside an oversized vent in the wall just as two women came around the corner. The first was her mother, Vale Brandford, looking tired and worn out and very obviously stressed, causing her normally gentle tone to be biting and argumentative. Scarlet had a way of bringing that out in her, especially after a particularly hard day of staring at research data and making the hard decisions on how to implement the results. Scarlet…Terra had never liked Scarlet._

_From her ventilation shaft, Terra watched the two walk toward the mayor's office only for them both to stop halfway there when Scarlet reached out and grabbed Vale's arm. "Don't you get it? These Mako reactors are the only way to ensure that we have a constant energy supply, not to mention it guarantees that those idiotic little villagers will comply with our regulations."_

_"They're not pawns, Scarlet," Terra's mother argued, jerking her arm free of the latter's grasp. "You know as well as I do that if we build a Mako reactor in Corel, then their economy will fall into shambles. Every man in that village will be out of work, meaning they will have to uproot their families in order to move to Midgar to find a job. The Upper Plate doesn't have that kind of space and the Slums are already brimming with the unfortunates."_

_"Your ideals are dated and unrealistic," Scarlet spat, shoving Vale's shoulder and causing her to stumble backwards. "You know as well as I do that the reactor we built in Nibelheim is only the beginning. Soon we'll have a reactor in every village on this Planet, making us the sole owner of Mako distribution. Neo-Midgar will be glorious, realized as only the president can with our valuable research. You can't stand in his way."_

_"I fought that reactor in Nibelheim, and I'm fighting the plans to put ones in both Corel and Gongaga. The effect on the environment alone will be catastrophic, and you know that. How can you stand here and argue that siphoning unprecedented amounts of Mako from the Planet is going to bring unlimited prosperity? Have you even looked at the research data?"_

_Vale turned her back on her assistant and started for the mayor's office once again, but Scarlet wouldn't have it. Lunging forward, she grabbed hold of Vale's shoulders and struggled to drag her toward the glass._

_"Mom!" Terra cried, clawing her way from out of the vent, but upon getting to her feet, she found that she couldn't move her legs. "Mom!" she shouted again, reaching out her hands as though it would stop the fight, but neither of them heard her as they continued to struggle with one another._

_Scarlet grabbed hold of Vale's hair and pulled, prompting a cry from the latter, and it was just enough to give her the advantage. Still gripping Vale's hair and shoulder, Scarlet heaved her through the broad glass of the sixty-third floor. Only then was Terra able to move, and she bolted to the window in order to save her mother._

_"Terra? Terra!" someone shouted from behind her just as her foot slipped, and Terra quickly realized that the glass wasn't really broken, that she hadn't just witnessed her mother fall all over again because she had been dreaming. With a cry, she tumbled through the window, causing it to burst into a million tiny pieces and they showered all around her as her body lurched into open air. The wind bit angrily at her exposed skin as if to taunt her, telling her that she was destined to make a date with the pavement below, only she screamed when she came to a sudden stop and her shoulder exploded with pain. Someone had managed to grab her wrist, keeping her from soaring down sixty stories._

_"Jack!" she sobbed, catching a glimpse of his face before looking down. They were so high that she couldn't even see the parking lot or even the decorative trees that surrounded the building, and she cried out again._

_Her brother acted quickly, throwing out a foot and kicking the adjacent window. It broke easily into a dozen or more pieces before falling away into the darkness below and he began to swing her in that direction. "Try and grab the ledge with your foot," he instructed as they began to pick up momentum, and after a few heavy swings, she managed to grip the ledge with her lower leg and hold herself there. "Okay, Terra just hold on and try to pull yourself up. I'll help you."_

_Only what little leverage she had managed to gain on the ledge was ripped from her in a mere fraction of a second. The glass beneath her foot was slick with the chilly air, and her shoe slid easily across the small, broken panes causing her to swing wildly back in the other direction. "Jack!" she screamed again as she frantically grabbed for anything with her other hand and she somehow collided with another hand. Only this one was hard and cold and…metal?_

_"Wake up, Terra," Jack ordered, and she looked up at him. A red cloak was fastened around his neck and was billowing in the wind behind him. "You have to wake up," he called out more urgently, and suddenly his hair wasn't cropped short but was rather a long, raven slash against the light behind him, and his face faded from rugged, casual features into the striking, severe angles of Vincent's visage._

All at once, a blast of heat through the chilly air tightened the skin of Terra's face, and the stark grey of the Shin-Ra building became the rich sandy stucco of the Villa. She was dangling over the side of the rear balcony, Vincent's hands gripping her wrists so tightly she could barely feel her fingers anymore, and behind him a large patch of fire was climbing swiftly up the draperies that covered the windows of the balcony doors. As they burned, thin strips of charred cloth drifted lazily along the evening air, their destination unimportant and their course listless.

From inside the Villa, something exploded, rocking the balcony and causing Vincent's grip to loosen just enough for Terra's hands to slip into his own and she screamed again. Below her, people had begun to form on the beach at a safe distance, many of them pointing, others covering their mouths as they watched the display with horror though no one seemed inclined to help them, even as more fire began to ignite in the windows. Finally, with one powerful heave, Vincent managed to pull Terra over the stone banister. It scraped her bare knees and ripped the cloth of her pants, but it hardly mattered to her as she threw herself against Vincent and held him tightly.

"Come on," he ordered over the deafening crackle of the flames, and he flung his cloak around her before leading her through the living room. All of the furniture was aflame in a blaze of bright orange, and as they passed the kitchen, Terra barely glimpsed the source of the explosion: the stove, its inside gutted and charred with pieces of its shrapnel embedded in the cabinetry all around. Vincent tugged her along through the foyer and, at long last, the front door where they were greeted with a wave of cool air. It softened the heat on their skin as they stumbled over the bridge, both of them finally collapsing on the other side, and Terra immediately curled against Vincent.

"What happened?" Terra gasped between heavy gulps of breath, her fingers gripping Vincent's cloak as she stared, agog, at the blazing home. "Was it –?"

"No," Vincent cut over her. He gazed at her bandaged arm that should have been soaked with blood from all of the exertion and stress, yet it was as clean as it had been upon changing the dressing earlier in the day. Vincent removed the gauze to find that her arm was completely healed over without any indication that the flesh had been cut into, and he ran his hand over the spot of the surgery. He then lifted up her arm for her to see, and a tiny squawk left her at what she saw as Vincent continued in an ominous tone. "The Mako within you has awoken. What happened while I was gone, Terra?"

The simple question brought back the memory of the radio and a fresh wave of heat surged through her. Seconds later, another explosion rocked the Villa and chunks of the stucco flew determinately through the air only to land on the beach below. Jack…Jack was dead…she had to go the Midgar, she had to see his body for herself, and she told Vincent as such as she looked at him, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Are you insane?" he accused sharply. "We were nearly killed at the Gold Saucer. You suffered a severe infection from the surgery last week, and now you want to throw yourself into the lion's den? Absolutely not. Not after what's just happened."

"What?" she spluttered blankly as she gaped at him, both of them now completely oblivious to the raging inferno not twenty yards away even as the fire brigade began carting buckets of water and others began casting aquatic spells. "It's my brother. I have to go to Midgar. I have to be there when they bury him, Vincent, and the entire reason for the surgery was to remove the tracking device. No one will know I'm there."

Vincent drew back his shoulders, set his jaw, and clenched his fists at his sides, preparing himself to win this argument. It was too dangerous for her to go back, especially now that the Mako was no longer being regulated and was fluctuating with extreme emotions. There was also the fact that he was getting increasingly suspicious about the entire situation, all of the little tidbits and morsels sitting uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach where every one of his gut reactions occurred. Vincent didn't like it, and he wasn't about to voluntarily take Terra back to Midgar with such a sour feeling brewing.

"I will not take you," he said at length, hating the stricken expression that slashed across her face and she suddenly looked as if he had physically socked her in the stomach. Despite her defeated look, however, he still expected an argument, Terra imploring him to take her back with that doe-eyed expression she wore so well. Only when she remained quiet Vincent felt his fists slacken and he immediately began to worry what she was going to say, or worse, what she was going to do.

"Then if you won't take me, I'll go by myself," Terra said, and she began to make her way across the bridge to the docks where Anouk was grazing on a rare tuft of grass amid the sand. "Come on Anouk," she cooed at the chocobo, smoothing down the silky feathers of her long neck. Anouk waarked quietly when Terra clumsily mounted the saddle, and the bird shook her body at the sudden weight that was distributed. "Take me back to the island…I have to pack my things."


	14. First Fire, Now Ice

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Seriously.

**A/N:** Happy Update Day!! Thank you so much for the reviews! They always make me smile :) Um...I deviated slightly from the very first chapter, namely with the exclusion of the character Connor, if anyone remembers him...poor Connor...his non-existence will be missed, but not his superfluousness (yeah, it's a word, lol). Oh and I noticed that in previous chapters, the Monogram for Terra's experiment didn't show up in the text. For those of you who were confused it was M S I. H K, and stands for Mako Serum Implant - Hojo and Kline. Whew, I think that's it, and as always, welcome back everyone, and enjoy!

_**T**he sunrise was barely creeping up over the horizon, welcoming the new day with such a splash of orange that Terra wondered how the whole world wasn't alight with sunshine. The Planet had never been more beautiful than this morning, which was strangely, and sadly, ironic. Terra wasn't the least bit anxious to leave, holding her bag tightly with a grip so strong she thought the handle might break with any more pressure…_

_And now she was leaving, her bags packed the night before and now sitting on the front steps as she stood opposite them on the back patio, her mind solely on her departure and how desperately she wanted to stay. Somewhere deep inside she knew she needed him, needed that instability but she had convinced herself that Midgar was where she belonged and where she was needed by others. With Jack dead, her father needed her and someone needed to reassert the governor's office…_

_"You ready to go?"_

_"You're taking me? I called Cloud and he said –"_

_"Yeah, well he called me."_

Even now, Vincent couldn't remember what made him change his mind about traveling with her. He supposed that it had everything to do with wanting to be around her that much longer, and he couldn't help but think back over the past few months, and they weighed heavy on Vincent's mind as they traveled off the island that morning. Remembering their time together was difficult, especially when the overwhelming feeling of being abandoned gripped him worse than anything he had ever felt before. Understanding Terra's reasons for leaving were easy enough; he knew that the news of Jack's death was mortifying to her, but knowing that and understanding that didn't make his own selfish reactions any less painful. All day long he could walk alongside her and tell himself that it was simply because it was a dangerous endeavor to attend the funeral, but really? Really it was all about wanting to keep her around, for Terra Brandford had gotten under his skin; she had burrowed deep, and she was making no plans to leave.

As they traveled, neither spoke. Terra rode Anouk a short distance away from Vincent, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon as the morning splash of colors in the sky faded from bright tangerines and purples into a dreary cobalt blue that stretched above and before them like an endless blanket. Vincent watched her for a long time, studied the sadness on her face and the hollow gaze in her eyes and knew that she didn't want to return any more than he wanted her to. It was only now, however, that he realized the underlying plea in her request, a plea that even Terra may not have consciously intended, and yet there it was all the same.

_"Come with me."_

Vincent closed his eyes for a moment as those words danced through his mind in Terra's voice. Was it so hard to accept? Was it so hard to push that final inch and fall from the precipice? He wanted to take the step…push the inch…his stomach ached so bad, his chest pounded so desperately to feel that free-fall, and it angered him that he couldn't find the words to tell her that he wanted to her to stay, that he didn't want her to abandon him now, not when they were skirting the edge of something amazing, something he had long-searched for but had never found because no one had ever been willing to tough it out with him before.

Only when he opened his eyes to look at Terra again all comprehendible thought left him. Ever so slowly, Terra was sliding a simple golden engagement ring onto her finger, and all at once, Chaos exploded angrily in Vincent's temple and a low grunt rippled deep in his throat.

"I have to keep up appearances with my father," she said with a glance at him, and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment. "Unless –"

"Unless what?" Vincent demanded sharply without meeting her eyes.

Terra's expression twisted into that of indignation, and after stopping Anouk, she slid from the saddle to stand directly in front of Vincent. Poking her index finger against his chest, Terra then stuck her nose close to his own and narrowed his eyes. "You know what? I'm tired of your attitude. I really am. First off, it's totally rude to interrupt someone while they're talking, and secondly? Secondly…"

Only she couldn't finish. She just continued to jab her finger against his chest, each jab becoming weaker and weaker until she changed her mind completely and let her arm fall against her side. Vincent looked at her expectantly, ready to unleash his temper, but Chaos virtually evaporated when her shoulders deflated in defeat and an air of realization came over her.

"You know what?" she repeated in a quieter tone, her eyes shining in the afternoon sunlight. "If you don't see it, or if you're not willing to see it…" –her eyes searched his own. "Did it mean nothing to you? Is that why you left me yesterday?"

Why he left, Terra would never understand. The complexities of his feelings were far too difficult to explain, for that kiss…that kiss had almost been the end of him; it was the reason he had had to leave, because he wasn't quite sure he could control himself anymore, but it was also what had brought him back. He had wanted to experience it again, because it had made him feel alive like he hadn't felt since before waking up in Shin-Ra Manor, his body pieced back together like Frankenstein's Monster.

"It meant everything," he said in such a low whisper Terra almost didn't hear him, and she leaned closer to him.

"Then prove it."

Vincent took her hand and deftly slipped the ring from her finger, tossing it away. The buckles and snaps of his broad collar were quickly dispensed with and not a second later, Vincent encircled her with his cape and drew her into his embrace. Their lips collided with a need, an urgency that neither of them had quite felt before and they stood for a long time just exploring, discovering, until a chill wracked Vincent's body. He pulled away only slightly to find that Terra's lips were tinged blue, but she was grinning as she blew out a light breath that came out as a puffy, white cloud. It mixed with the breath that Vincent had let escape, and they both watched as the small clouds circled around one another.

"I think that means something," she whispered, and her grin widened upon what she saw. The smallest of smiles had curled Vincent's mouth, and she reached up to cup his face, her hands cold on his skin. "Yeah…it definitely means something. I think maybe…"

But she wasn't allowed to finish. Vincent captured the words that were about to leave her mouth and kissed her again, the chill spreading throughout his body and to his extremities, making his fingers and toes tingle pleasantly. The two of them stayed that way for a long time until Vincent rested his forehead to hers and exhaled an icy breath.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, caressing the smooth slope of her neck. "About…" –he sighed, almost lost for words. "I'm sorry about everything…about your brother, but Terra –"

"I know," she cut across him, placing a few fingers to his lips and she shrugged. "Even if it is a trap, I have to go to the service. He's my brother. I could never forgive myself if I didn't show up. That's why I wanted you to come with me." –she smiled again and palmed his cheek. "I trust you, remember?"

Nearby, Anouk waarked at them in annoyance and roughly nudged Vincent's side as an encouragement to get moving again. They weren't the ones wearing a heavy saddle and carrying an extra five pounds of luggage.

"Anouk's right," Terra added quietly with a laugh. "We're losing daylight, and Jack's service is tomorrow morning."

"Of course, M'Lady," Vincent said, helping her to mount the chocobo, and for the rest of the day, the allure of Chaos didn't tempt him as they traveled through the countryside surrounding Midgar.


	15. Neon Lighting and Tacky Paisley Prints

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish Vincent were my own personal bodyguard, alas, he is not...

**A/N:** Oh my goodness, thank you, thank you kimmik777 and Ruthie for your kind reviews, and everyone else who has previously reviewed. It really does keep me inspired :) Well, welcome back everyone and I do hope you enjoy :)

**A**fter their arrival late in the evening, Vincent and Terra found an old motel to hole up in that was on the outskirts of Sector Six. It wasn't so much a motel as it was a shanty with cheap neon lighting announcing that the place had plenty of vacancy (no surprise), and a cozy Lover's Hottub (it was heart-shaped, a tidbit Terra nearly giggled her head off about when the man behind the counter gave them a wink). They managed a room on the second floor in the far corner where the window looked out on the rest of the sector, though Terra imagined that she wouldn't be admiring the view much. All that seemed to spread out from around them were run-down houses that had once been gleaming accomplishments, and seedy looking businesses that Vincent wasn't exactly willing to explain to her.

Upon pushing through the door to their room, Terra felt her shoulders deflate at the sight. The room was small with one full-sized bed against the wall and a tattered, paisley- print chair that Terra had no desire to test out. She watched those crime drama shows. No thank you. But what really made her groan was the fact that there was no private bathroom, not even a sink, and Terra shot a look at Vincent.

"Really?" she asked as he side-stepped her to move further inside, but he didn't answer at first. It seemed he wasn't exactly happy about the arrangement, either, but instead of act perturbed, he glanced at her over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

"There's always the hottub."

"Oh you're so cute," Terra bantered back with a roll of her eyes. She then took a step back to glance down the hallway to see a door ajar at the end. On it was a sign that read "Toilet," and beneath it was a picture of a generic man and woman. Great. A community bathroom, but the call of nature was much stronger than her initial disgust, and she promptly announced that she would be back. She strode down the hall and upon approaching the door, she scrunched up her nose and stepped inside, clicking on the light as she did so, and it buzzed to life above her. It flickered slightly before establishing itself, and a dull yellow glow was finally cast throughout the tiny water closet.

It didn't smell, which was a nice surprise, but the sink looked worse than a grungy sewer pipe, and the bathtub looked like something had died in it and had forgotten to alert the management. Terra peered over the lip of the tub and nudged it with her foot as if it were a sleeping animal and promptly decided on running the tap and washing her face as opposed to submerging herself in...well, _that_. Vincent's suggestion was quickly turning out to be the best idea of the night, but Terra doubted she would indulge in that either. Heart-shaped...right...

After finishing up and preening in the mirror for a minute, Terra then pinned her hair up and made her way out of the bathroom and back down the hallway just as Vincent was coming up the stairs. He had something slung over his shoulder, and Terra noticed one more rifle secured to his hip than he'd had before.

"Precautionary," he said, noticing her gaze and he put a hand to her shoulder. "Our two friends from the Gold Saucer were sharing a meal at the Sector Bar."

Sheesh, had she been in the bathroom that long? He had already been to the Sector Bar and back? But instead of question him about it, Terra was more worried about the two men that had tried to cart her back to Midgar nearly two weeks ago, and told him as such. The last thing she wanted to happen was for more mercenaries to show up in the night, especially now that neither of them knew who was hunting her. That was much more frightening than the initial scare of her father tracking her down.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," he reassured her, and he reached into his cloak to pull out a stylish knitted hat. Vincent then placed it on her head and it covered her very obvious green hair aside from a few tendrils that hung about her face. "Precautionary," he said again. "No one can identify you if there is nothing unique about your appearance. I request that you wear it whenever you leave the room or the motel."

Terra cinched up her face into mock seriousness and saluted him with two fingers. "Aye-aye," she said, but Vincent ignored her and started for their room. "Oh come on. Lighten up a little."

"I will relax when all of this is finally over," he called back to her as she trailed after him, but just as she was about to tease him again, his PHS chirped loudly in his pocket. He waited to answer it, however, until they were both in the room and for an endless moment all he did was listen intently, occasionally glancing at Terra which only unnerved her further, until he finally spoke softly. "Are you positive? Thank you, Tifa."

Vincent pocketed his PHS without a word, but looked at Terra when she reached out and threaded her fingers through his in a silent plea to give it to her straight, no matter the gravity of the news. "Vincent...?"

"It's nothing. It can wait until tomorrow," he reassured her quietly, and he motioned toward the bed. "You should rest."

A good night's sleep did sound enticing. After all, she hadn't slept in nearly two days, and had inadvertently started a raging inferno when she had tried to the night before, though when she glanced at the bed she scrunched up her nose again. It looked lumpy and uninviting and she could just imagine herself tossing and turning all night, but in the end, the thought of lying down trumped any apprehensions. She was tired and sore from traveling all day, and spending most of that time thinking about Jack's death had been emotionally draining. She wasn't so sure she was ready to view him lying in a pine box in the morning, but she certainly couldn't show up to his service looking like she had died alongside him. Jack would have fussed at her for not taking care of herself.

After pulling the covers down, Terra sprawled over the bed and shut her eyes, anticipating a fight to get to sleep but she was out before Vincent even had a chance to settle into the paisley-print chair next to the bed. Terra's slumber was blissfully heavy with none of her dreams able to reach her until she awoke with a start sometime in the night, her breath erratic, and she felt sweat peppered on her forehead and upper lip. Vincent was...he had been...

The room was hot, and the sheets of the bed beneath her clung to any skin that was exposed, making Terra even more uncomfortable. Blinking a few times, she managed to focus on the ceiling to note that the fan wasn't moving and she groaned as she moved to palm her forehead.

"Vincent?" she croaked, and she cleared the sleep from her throat to try his name again. "Vincent, is the A/C broken?"

No answer, and when she rolled over onto her side, her gaze fell upon Vincent in the chair. His head was dipped back and resting on the cushion behind him and his stark red bandana was pulled over his eyes to block out the neon light spilling through the window. In the harsh pink glow, Terra saw that his shirt was moist with perspiration and clinging to various parts of his chest, and the top three buttons had been released to allow for some cooler air. Terra could barely make out an oily sheen on his cheek and she smiled. Well, the heat was good for something, at least.

"Ice," she murmured, patting the mattress, and she laboriously clambered off of the bed to make her way toward the door only to stop upon hearing Vincent speak.

"Where are you going?" he asked languidly, though he declined from moving even to look at her, and she groaned.

"Ice machine. It's too hot to sleep."

At last Vincent moved, and he lifted his arm to point to his cloak that was draped on a hanger in the tiny closet. "Take Cerberus with you as a precaution. Unless…"- he lolled his head to the side to look at her as he moved his bandana, and his eyes burned red in the darkness, making Terra's stomach flutter. "Unless you would like me to accompany you."

"No, it's okay," she reassured him, rifling through his cloak until she found his spare sidearm. It was a beautiful work of art with intricate metalwork and finely polished wood that was painstakingly cared for. Hanging from the handle was a charm in the shape of a three-headed dog, and she let it rest on her fingers as she examined it. Cerberus. How fitting.

Just as she moved to lift it out of its holster (a leather contraption that she couldn't quite figure out), there was a firm knock at the door and Vincent was on his feet in less than a second. Without having to be instructed, Terra quickly disappeared inside the closet and closed the door, and a smothering darkness immediately surrounded her. There was some quiet shuffling as Vincent moved from the chair to the door, and a moment later Terra heard the locks click and the hinges squeak as the door was pulled open.

Standing before Vincent was a young guy, thirties maybe, with a frenzy of black-brown hair framing his face and who was wearing a gray tee shirt that boasted he was the "Big Kahuna." A Scruffy goatee and long, thick sideburns completed the look, and when he grinned, perfect white teeth almost gleamed in the dull lighting of the hallway.

"We didn't order any pizzas," Vincent deadpanned, giving him a more thorough look and finding that the man hadn't even bothered with shoes, but rather a tattered pair of cloth flip flops. An anklet made of twine hugged one ankle, and on the calf of his other leg was a tall tattoo of a bikini clad woman. "I believe you have the wrong room."

"This late at night, Man? Nah, I don't think so," the guy said, completely oblivious to the insult, and he proceeded to smack loudly on a piece of gum. "Oh by the way? Sorry about the A/C goin' out. It was the only distraction that I could think of that would get the manager out of the lobby."

That voice…Terra knew that voice. How could she not? How many times had that voice talked her down from a dream or explained to her why she had to eat her vegetables, or why everybody had cooties until they reached the fifth grade? Terra threw the closet door open with abandon and ran for the door of the motel room, throwing her arms around the late-night visitor and nearly knocking him over in the process. Her brother… Jackknife…Jack was alive!


	16. Those Two Again?

**Disclaimer:** Hardly necessary, but included all the same...

**A/N:** Reviews! Thank you! I love them :) Well, as always, welcome back everyone, and please enjoy :)

**J**ack Brandford had always been a man of leisure, finding little interest in the goings on of his father's estate and governorship. He hated politics with a passion, and was never a stranger to expressing his opinion during all his years of living in Midgar until his much-anticipated eighteenth birthday. It was then that he moved out and kept in touch only with Terra, sending her the occasional letter when he could spare the time between his extracurricular activities, but even that correspondence had dwindled over the years to the point that they hardly knew each other anymore. Jack was a semi-famous sports enthusiast while Terra was now a world traveler, and both of them were shocked at the other's report of all the events leading up to their current circumstances.

"Enganged?" Jack spluttered. "Since when?"

Since being admitted into the room, he had settled himself cross-legged on the bed and had fallen into a comfortable silence as he listened to the sequence of events as spelled out by his younger sister. She explained them in such a flourish that only she could muster, while Vincent stood by the window in a kind of contemplative silence. Terra imagined that he couldn't see much more than the parking lot and the facades of the surrounding buildings; the second floor of their motel wasn't especially high, but she knew that Vincent was likely uninterested in the view anyway. The window was merely an excuse not to make eye contact, but it didn't keep him from occasionally interjecting, his voice low and somewhat ominous when he did speak, a trait that didn't go entirely unnoticed by Jack. It made him somewhat uneasy.

"The better part of four months ago, I suppose," Terra said, trying to make light of her engagement before moving on. "But that doesn't matter because I'm not going to marry him."

"Not if I can help it," Vincent uttered quietly without turning to completely join the conversation, and Terra's cheeks colored at the interjection.

"A-anyway," she carried on as she tried not to notice Jack's curious glances. "How did you find out about your funeral service?"

There was a laugh that brightened the mood in the room and Jack shook his head as if to disbelieve his own account of what had been happening. "A few guys dogged me around the Icicle Inn for over a week. They would show up to watch me snowboard and skulk around in the basement bar where I would chat up a few of the regulars. Late one night I found my room at the lodge trashed and a beefy-looking guy waiting around to rough me up."

Vincent straightened at the new information and cast a glance over his shoulder at Terra, his eyes relaying that it had probably been Bull that Jack had run into. The latter continued, though with not as much flourish as Terra, going on to explain that he had fought off Bull with the business end of his snowboard and made an exciting exit by way of his pursuers' rented snowmobiles.

"It wasn't until I showed up in Wutai that I got word of my rather untimely death," he laughed again. "It was maybe four days later and I was in Turtle's Paradise when the bartender handed me the morning paper, and sure enough there was my name in fat black letters announcing to the Planet that I had kicked it on the highways of Midgar. Shocking, really, since I haven't set foot in this place since I left six years ago."

It all seemed very surreal as Terra listened to him, as if he were telling a story about a mutual friend instead of his own circumstances. Swiping the sweat from her upper lip, Terra then shook her head and stood up to pace away from the paisley-print chair. Her entire body felt flush with worry and anxiety, and she couldn't help but wonder over what it all meant. Luring her into a trap was the only explanation, but why? What did she have, what did she know that could possibly have been an interest to anyone? So she could perform a few parlor tricks with the Mako in her blood, but so what? Everyone involved with the old project was deceased and there were far more civilized ways to get her to cooperate unless...

"Those men were former Turks," Vincent explained to Jack who whistled impressively and looked at his younger sister.

"Turks, huh? Hired by Dad no doubt," he mused, but then shook his head. "No…that wouldn't make sense."

"Precisely," Vincent confirmed without looking at either of them. He shifted slightly and ducked his head a little lower as if spying something curious, and he paused for a long moment as he contemplated his next words. "Which was why I had an acquaintance conduct some research." –he turned away from the window, but kept his back to the wall so as to make sure he had a fair view of the parking lot below. It was the reason he had requested the corner room and paid a handsome sum of gil for it. "A man was seen in Costa del Sol shortly before dawn this morning. He was inquiring after a young woman with green hair and-"

"The phone call," Terra blurted, remembering his short conversation with Tifa shortly after their arrival at the motel.

Vincent acknowledged her with a short nod, then continued though somewhat awkwardly. Her interruptions had the bad habit of stealing his composure. "Yes, I didn't think it prudent to share what she learned at the time, considering you were mere hours from viewing your brother's body, but considering he is here with us now..." -he paused again, and it became increasingly obvious that he still didn't want to share the news. The man...it was someone she knew? "A local recognized him from a recent report on the news wire as the owner of Remer Pharmaceuticals."

"Syd Daltrey?" Jack said incredulously before laughing again. "No, I hardly think so. The man lives in a stuffy apartment in Sector Two that overlooks his three factories. The man wouldn't be caught dead nosing around in a tourist trap."

But as he looked at Terra, he found that he didn't have her to share his amusement. In fact, she was pale and was holding her hand to her mouth as she gaped at Vincent. It couldn't be, but in her mind she knew that there was no other explanation that made as much sense: Syd Daltrey was her fiancée.

"He must have been making plans," Vincent continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "For what, we can't be sure yet, but whatever they are he needed to be close to you, to have you at his disposal."

"You mean so he could _make_ a disposal. I think it's pretty obvious that he's trying to kill me."

"If he wanted to kill you, Terra, you would have been dead long before either of us had the pleasure of meeting," Vincent reassured her, and some of the color returned to her cheeks. It didn't go unnoticed by Jack, who grinned somewhat knowingly at the interplay, but otherwise said nothing. He was far too interested in hearing how this was going to play out. Suddenly, Vincent cast a sharp glance at him and his eyes seemed to glow as he studied the older brother. "Tell me. How was it that you found us?"

He had been so caught up in the surprise of finding Jack alive that the thought had not occurred to him yet: if he could find them, so could Daltrey's mercenaries. Jack just shrugged at him and swiped a hand through his floppy brown hair to get it out of his eyes. "It was only a matter of asking around, I guess."

Vincent raised an eyebrow, an act that Jack took to mean impatience, and he quickly pressed on with his explanation. People didn't generally intimidate him but Vincent…the man just had an air about him that commanded a certain decorum and Jack shifted his gaze back to Terra. "A girl with green hair isn't that hard to miss, Shorty. Someone saw you guys entering Sector Six near a materia booth."

Terra smiled at the nickname, but Vincent was hardly satisfied with the explanation and he swore quietly as he paced a few steps back and forth. As usual, Terra had lingered where she wasn't supposed to, where Vincent had specifically asked her not to go, and someone had spotted a very obvious green-haired woman admiring trinkets at an outdoor market booth. No wonder he had seen Zell and Bull having a drink at the sector bar; word had gotten around about a guy inquiring after her which meant that the three of them grouped together was a very, very bad idea.

"You can't stay here," Terra said at length, deciphering Vincent's silence as she cast a glance in his direction, but Vincent had since turned to look out the window to the parking lot where two familiar men stood, one tall and spindly, the other stocky and muscular, and they were both talking to a third. It was a man that Vincent immediately recognized as the motel manager, and he silently chastised himself for being so careless in their arrival, for the manager was currently gesturing toward their corner room. Apparently he had not paid the man handsomely enough.

"Never mind all that," he said tersely, and he swept across the room in a flourish of crimson. Gathering up all of his effects, Vincent then began to hustle them both toward the door with little instruction but by then it was too late. Zell and Bull, their lovely acquaintances from the Gold Saucer, had just cleared the top stair.

"Oy!" Bull shouted upon seeing them and he withdrew a gun from his traveling cloak. He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice by letting Vincent get too near, and he held his aim steady. The three of them froze just outside the door, but it was only temporary, for a moment later a tattered flip flop soared down the hallway with alarming precision and struck Bull directly between the eyes. He let out a strangled cry upon it making contact with his bandaged nose and had circumstances been any different, Terra would have laughed outright. It wasn't every day one witnessed a flying shoe, and it had provided just enough of a distraction for Vincent to scale the length of the hallway.

"I do believe we've danced this tango before," he mused, striking the bend of Bull's arm in such a way to make him eject the gun into the air, and Vincent easily caught it whilst wrestling Zell into a firm, arresting grasp. "Now then," he began calmly, training the gun on Bull and motioning toward the bathroom nearby them. "I suggest you kindly step inside, otherwise…"

Vincent trailed off in order to lean into Zell's ear who was muttering colorful curses about being bested again. "Otherwise this will end badly for the both of you."

Zell stiffened at his own threat being used against him, and watched anxiously as Bull began to back up into the water closet. "You don't understand," he said earnestly, digging his heels into the shabby carpeting as Vincent pushed him to join Bull. "The guy who hired us…he's crazy. Once he finds out we didn't capture her this time he'll go off the deep end. He-he's already issued an order that we're to kill you if that's what it takes to retrieve her."

"I would venture to say that he wasted his money then," Vincent growled deep in his throat and he dug the sharp fingers of his gauntlet into Zell's back. "What does he want with Terra?"

Zell grunted loudly at the pain and struggled in vain against Vincent's grip. "Do you take stupid pills with your breakfast?" he spat, which earned him another painful dig. "Argh! Just look at her! She's walking Mako energy! The man could control the entire planet with a small army of Mako soldiers that would be just like her. None of them would be held back with having to equip bangles and weapons with materia, and no recharge time between uses. An endless supply of Mako right in your blood."

"Dude, that's a little cliché don't you think?" Jack interjected and he laughed. "World domination? Really?"

"No, not the world, just the money involved," Vincent surmised quietly.

"The man would control the entire medical industry, along with holding nearly half the power of Mako distribution," Zell added. "Which means every single one of you is expendable. Don't you get it? It's useless. He'll get his hands on Terra, and it'll be Shin-Ra all over again."

"You hardly seem excited," Vincent said as he finally released his grip and turned Zell around to face him. He then shoved him back into the bathroom where he stumbled clumsily into Bull. "Why, then, are you so ardent in helping him?"

For a long moment Zell was quiet as he looked from Vincent to Terra who had since moved to stand next to him. "It's better to be at the right hand of the devil than in his path, don't you think?"

Vincent felt Terra shiver with his words, and after a short glance at her, he slammed the door shut. Terra then hugged him tightly around the middle and rested her cheek against his chest, shutting her eyes as if it would help to shut out the conversation.

"You don't think he was being serious, do you? All that talk about a Mako army?"

There was no answer, but one wasn't necessary, and instead Vincent curled his arms about her in reassurance. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that it wasn't about Terra at all; it was about what was inside of her. Her Mako regulator was the only one of its kind, an unintentional prototype that had never been duplicated before the project had been shelved all those years ago, and yet, he couldn't shake the growing notion that hiding her away wasn't going to suffice for very much longer; Daltrey was determined, and Vincent was certain that a confrontation was necessary in order to resolve this whole mess, economical domination or not.

"Hey," Jack blurted, interrupting his solace. He was marching down the hallway with the ghastly paisley-print chair in tow and one foot still missing its flip flop. The absent shoe was making his gait sound oddly uneven, _flop-thump_, _flop-thump_, but he was hardly bothered by it, he was so pleased with himself. "This should keep them indoors for a little while."

With a great heave and an exaggerated noise of exertion, Jack pushed the chair up against the door of the bathroom, making sure the armrest blocked the knob securely, and he wiped his hands over one another as if ridding them of dirt.

"Well then," he continued with a grin, turning to face his two companions. "Shall we find Daltrey? I'm anxious to give him my congratulations on his engagement."


	17. ShinRa Bound

**Disclaimer:** Squaresoft's, not mine...

**A/N:** As always, thank you everyone for your reviews! Well, today is a very special update day, because I'm posting two chapters, woo hoo! And so, welcome back my faithful readers, and please enjoy :)

**T**hunder clouds drifted ominously over Midgar threatening a heavy rain. They cast dark blue and black shadows over the sectors below and brought with them a chilling breeze that forced outdoor vendors to close up shop for the rest of the evening. It blew through the streets, kicking up loose pieces of trash and debris that littered the pavement and they bounced listlessly along with no real direction at all until tumbling over the often abrupt endings of the suspended highways. It was a sight that Terra hadn't seen, her mind's eye always depicting Midgar as what it once was: a glimmering technological masterpiece that dwarfed anything that had come before; nine sectors of perfection that housed the most elite of society, but this...this was the wake of Meteor. It was an image of near desolation, and she wondered how she could have been so blind as to not have seen it before, succumbing to being cooped up inside the governor's mansion where it resided in the only glimmering sector left. Sector Two had been her home for her entire life, masking her from the reality of her father's constituents. They were all poor. They were all hungry. They were all neglected.

She stood at the edge of one of the highways, its pavement slowly crumbling away with the slightest vibration, and she gazed at the sight below her. There were a few people still milling about before the storm, their figures resembling ants as they scurried here and there and Terra shut her eyes, chastising herself for believing that the Slums no longer existed. What must they suffer beneath the crumbling pizza that was once a thriving metropolis? Terra didn't want to think about it and she turned away, overwhelmed with sadness and shame. She had to help them. No one deserved to live this way, especially when the shadow of Remer Pharmaceuticals lingered on the horizon and she held the leverage to put an end to it.

"How are we to get to Sector Two?" she heard Jack ask of Vincent where they stood a few feet away. He was kicking around a large pebble much like one would kick around a soccer ball as Vincent stood still, his gaze fixed on the abandoned Shin-Ra building. "Last I checked, you and I weren't on the security list."

"Entry will prove to be difficult," Vincent said at length, glancing at Terra and their eyes met briefly. "I don't expect either of you to accompany me."

"It's not all up to you, Vincent," Terra argued, and a flicker of lightning illuminated the gray clouds above them. Jack stopped shuffling around and looked up, then at Terra, then at Vincent, not helping but to feel like he was intruding upon something that was intimate and extremely private. "Besides," Terra continued, dropping her gaze to her shoes. "Daltrey won't be in Sector Two...not if he's trying hide this whole affair."

"Shin-Ra," Vincent said, looking back at the tall, central building once more as a breeze slowly blew over them. It lifted his cloak and made it flit about a short moment. "Of course. He would have a laboratory. If memory serves me, there was a lab on the sixty-seventh floor that Professor Ghast worked out of."

"Yeah, Hojo claimed that for himself after Ghast left," Jack informed him. "But it couldn't still be useable, could it? Meteor destroyed a lot of stuff, and I heard that a lot of the inside of Shin-Ra was gutted by the fire from the Weapon attack. Anything left was looted by vagrants."

In the end, however, Jack didn't argue with them. After all, until just hours before he had been completely oblivious to what had been going on and both Terra and Vincent were convinced that the old building had to house Daltrey's lab, even if the place was in ruins. It would have been the perfect disguise, and so it was decided that the Shin-Ra building was their next destination.

* * *

The inside was damp and dark, and in obscure corners of the lobby water dripped loudly in the expansive emptiness. The walls were charred and blackened with old soot and the once glass elevator was virtually non-existent, the only thing left of it being that of the platform and the support beams. Glass was littered all around and crunched beneath their feet as they walked further inside, and Terra found that the entire lobby looked nothing like it once had. The stairwell was missing large chunks of stone and the banister had almost completely fallen away, but it was still climbable, and it appeared that that was going to be their only means by which to reach Hojo's old lab.

Jack trudged forward first, his shoes flopping noisily in the broad lobby and he marched up the stairs two at a time. "I dare say it's going to be quite a trek," he called back to them. "Sixty floors of stone steps. Well, can't say I don't need the exercise."

"Jack, you snowboard every day," Terra bantered with a slight smile and she casually slipped her arm through Vincent's as they followed Jack up the steps. Her brother only laughed and continued his steady jog until reaching the landing, and he bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for them to catch up. When they reached him, Terra let out a breath and shook her head. "I don't know if I can scale sixty stories. You think there's an easier way to get up there?"

"It would appear that someone has beaten us to it," Vincent noted, nodding toward a dumbwaiter-like contraption that had been constructed inside the now-vacant elevator shaft.

"Dope," Jack said with a grin. "I call shotgun."

He made his way over to it and picked at it curiously, discovering that it wasn't large enough to carry three people, and likely wasn't sturdy enough to manage two, and upon closer inspection, he saw that the whole thing was operated by a crank. "Okay. Not so dope. This puppy requires manual labor. I volunteer someone besides me."

"All we need is a little Mako," Vincent said as if it was the only explanation in the world, and he escorted Terra over to the elevator shaft. She cast a glance in Jack's direction after having come to the same conclusion: there was no way that this little box was going to hold three grown adults, but Vincent hardly seemed bothered by that small set-back. "All you need to do," he continued, helping Terra inside. "Is to concentrate on moving the crank."

He then looked at Jack expectantly, his red eyes glowing from behind his broad collar and Jack laughed somewhat nervously. He may have been a fearless sort, but he wasn't stupid, and until he saw that thing in action first, he wasn't about to climb aboard the crazy train. "No no. That's all right. I'll take the next one. You two go ahead."

Without another word, Vincent leapt up and grabbed hold of the cable above the dumbwaiter. Terra then drew a deep breath and placed her hand above the cranking mechanism, and almost immediately it began to glow a faint green. The glow traveled from the crank and to the cables until finally encompassing the entire car, and with a gentle lurch, the dumbwaiter began to lift itself to the upper floors of the Shin-Ra building. Jack watched them ascend the shaft until they were out of sight, though still not entirely convinced that it wasn't a deathtrap. Elevators…he didn't like elevators. If they malfunctioned, there was only one direction they traveled.

And so he waited. Patiently at first, though as the seconds crawled by Jack began to pace the floor, kicking at old pieces of burnt stone and ruined carpeting. There were cracks everywhere from the extreme heat that had baked this place from the inside, and he began to debate the real stability of the building, especially at the upper floors, as he traced one of the cracks with the toe of his flip flop. Forget all of that…Terra should have been back by now to retrieve him, and he marched over to the elevator shaft to get another glimpse of the upper levels, only when he reached the open doors he immediately stumbled back as the dumbwaiter came crashing down. Its floor clipped the edge of the doorway and exploded into a dozen pieces, sending smaller splinters of wood flying in Jack's direction and he had to hunker down to keep from getting hit in the face.

"Terra!" he cried, scrambling for the shaft and he peered over the edge in time to see the dumbwaiter's pieces soar into the empty blackness below.


	18. Venom and Ice

**Disclaimer:** After 18 chapters, I think we all know by now...

_"Half of the harm done in this world is due to people who want to feel_  
_important. They do not mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them."_  
-T.S. Eliot

**T**he thought had never once occurred to Vincent that Daltrey would be expecting them, if for no other reason than the man being the typical black-hearted villain. He was clever, but not very smart, leaving behind little breadcrumbs such as his mercenaries and the easily accessible dumbwaiter. As far as Vincent was concerned, they had the element of surprise; Daltrey would be expecting his two goons, not the two people he had been pursuing. In retrospect, he imagined that it was arrogance on his part; arrogance in his own abilities, confidence in the absolute validity of his opinions, so when he felt the pinprick in his neck he quite honestly thought that it was nothing more than a bug bite.

"Vincent?" Terra began as she reached for him and a look of horror struck her face. Vincent staggered backward out of reach, his head rapidly growing light and swimmy and throwing off his center of gravity.

"Terra," he said, trying to grab Cerberus from its holster to give to her, but it was in vain. Everything was moving in slow motion now, and his hand collided with another just as it grabbed his sidearm instead.

"Please, don't do this," Terra pleaded upon seeing the man who emerged from behind Vincent. He was a tall, handsome sort with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. Six months ago Terra wouldn't have exactly minded getting to know the man better if it hadn't been for her father's forced engagement, and now Terra was thankful she had never been given the opportunity to make his acquaintance. If it hadn't been for her father, Daltrey's true nature would not have been revealed until it was too late, and Terra would have never met Vincent. She made a mental note to thank her father if they ever made it out of this.

Daltrey didn't bother with an answer, instead pressing the barrel of the gun against Vincent's temple as he tossed a small glass bottle at Terra. "Drink it," he ordered, and she did without question. She didn't need to be reminded of the alternative.

Terra grimaced at the acrid taste as it washed over her tongue, and she coughed when the burn surged through her throat and chest. Daltrey watched her with an air of disinterest as she fell to her knees, coughing and spluttering, and after a long moment of this, he finally reached over her and released the catch on the dumbwaiter. With a loud groan, its cables gave way and it plummeted sixty-seven stories to the ground level below.

* * *

Thank the Cetra, Jack thought. He heaved a relieved sigh and swallowed the thickness that had leapt into his throat before collapsing against the floor. There hadn't been any bodies falling with the debris, but that didn't necessarily mean that they weren't in trouble. He had to find a way to get up to the lab and fast, so he got to his feet and immediately began to search above him for places that he could grab hold of.

Good, he thought, his eyes spying an eyebeam that was within arm's length. The entire shaft was supported by eyebeams, even better. "Time to earn my namesake," he said as he kicked off his shoes, and he vaulted up in order to grab hold of the lip of the beam. With a great big heave, Jack swung forward and made a jackknife in the air in order to grab hold of the opposite wall, and he continued to climb up for as long as he could manage footholds. A few acrobatics and a few hundred feet later, Jack found himself jackknifing onto a balcony-like structure that overlooked an expansive room; Hojo's old lab, and Jack quietly cursed himself for climbing a floor too high.

"It's nothing personal," a voice boomed, and Jack ducked low behind the banister to hide. The man's voice sounded oddly distant in the large room, his words echoing around the broad empty space between each wall, and it made Jack peer over the lip of the banister to try and spy where he was. What he saw shocked him, for the lab looked nothing like the rest of the building. It had been completely rebuilt, and looking at all of the equipment was like being stuck in a time warp; everything was there from the glass enclosure for experiments to the instrument tables and carts that were spread around for easy access. The only new addition was a hospital bed that had been draped with a stark white sheet, and Jack ground his teeth upon seeing a shock of green hair peek out from beneath it.

Jack continued to scan the lab for any sight of Daltrey but to no avail, and he almost moved to another area of the balcony only to stop when he saw who Daltrey was talking to. There was a splash of crimson spilt over the pale white floor, and Jack squinted his eyes to focus a little better, praying to see movement and he let out a breath when the light glinted severely off of Vincent's gauntlet as it shifted. Thank the Cetra…but he looked so weak. Something had happened, and whatever it was Jack didn't want to think about it.

"I actually admire you," Daltrey continued, and there were echoing footsteps as he finally stepped into view from beneath the balcony. "All the work you did to stop Sephiroth and the lengths you've gone to in order to protect Terra, but you see I couldn't have you interfering this time. I really was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but it's like they say, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. Honestly, I wonder how Zell and that behemoth ever got into the Turks in the first place."

Very slowly, Vincent managed to push himself up only to fall back heavily against a cart full of instruments. They clattered to the floor noisily as the cart rolled away, but Vincent clawed for it anyway as if it might help him to his feet. Jack watched him, grimacing at the pain he saw in Vincent's movements, knowing that it had to be excruciating.

"You know, I know what you must be thinking," Daltrey said, and his footsteps thudded loudly as he walked over to the hospital bed. Jack used the noise to climb over the side of the banister, and when Daltrey spoke again, he dropped to the floor below. "Economical domination is so trite. President Shin-Ra achieved it, and many men before him strived for it, but it's not just about that. I want my name in the books. I want Remer Pharmaceuticals to be known as the company that eliminated our dependence upon materia. Can you imagine it? One procedure and you'll never have to buy materia again. You'll never have to worry about owning a weapon or an armor bangle just so you can use it. It will flow straight from your fingertips without inhibition, so you see? The technology inside of Terra is worth billions, and Dr. Kline didn't even realize it."

That's not economical domination, Jack thought as he ducked into a nearby shadow. That's chaos. There would be no law, no order.

"If you remove that regulator, Terra will die," Vincent said with great effort, and pain surged through his entire body. Hammers seemed to pound on all of his joints, making them throb and stiffen, and there were painful barbs stabbing at his stomach making him want to double over. Whatever it was that Daltrey had injected him with was working too quickly to beat and consciousness was beginning to wane. A black aura was fading in around his vision, and for the first time Vincent was starting to feel a sense of desperation, for he could see her. He could see Terra lying on the hospital bed mere feet away, practically within reach and yet he couldn't get to her. He couldn't save her all because he hadn't prepared for Daltrey expecting their arrival. He had surprised them, and now they were both suffering for Vincent's costly mistake.

"A pity, to be sure, but hardly my concern. Or yours for that matter. Once the venom makes its way through your bloodstream, I doubt you'll care much about anything other than the pain."

Suddenly, thunder roared angrily, and somewhere a window exploded, startling all of them. Jack took advantage of the distraction and hurtled himself toward Daltrey who had since moved to stand at the foot of the hospital bed. With a loud battle cry, Jack tackled him to the floor and they began to struggle with one another in a clumsy frenzy of arms and legs and fists and feet. Vincent watched them helplessly, unable to move, unable to think beyond the heat of the pain that was swiftly overtaking him, and he stretched out an arm toward the hospital bed before completely collapsing.

It was then that the hospital bed began to glow green. More thunder boomed all around them, shaking the very walls with its sound, and a hole opened in the wall above their heads causing stone and metalwork to shower to the floor in large chunks. Rain surged inside in heavy sheets, quickly pooling inside the experimentation chamber and drenching the small party below. In the balcony above, fire ignited in the control room as the console began to short circuit, and it spread rapidly as if fueled by an accelerant.

"What's happening?" Jack cried over the roar of the rain and the thunder, his concern no longer Daltrey but staying out of the way of falling debris. Daltrey kicked him off and scrambled to his feet in order to reach the hospital bed but a heavy gust of wind blew him back against the wall. Jack, seeing the bed encompassed with glowing green light, lunged for it as well, but was blown aside by the same strong wind, and he landed next to Vincent.

Don't you be dead, he thought as he pushed him onto his back and he was thankful to see that he was breathing, slow and erratic though it was.

"The Mako," Vincent managed to say, his voice strained and small, quite unlike how it had sounded in the motel, and Jack had to lean forward to hear him. "The Mako…it's conscious…protecting itself…"

"What? What do you mean conscious?" Jack demanded. "That's crazy, it's just energy."

"Lifestream…it's going to kill Daltrey."

Another thunderous boom rocked the building, sending more debris flying inside, and causing Jack to panic. The only way out was back down the elevator shaft, but he couldn't leave Terra; he couldn't leave Vincent, not like this and he began to sift through Vincent's cloak for any spare materia that he might have had. Fire? No. Lightning? No, and he tossed both orbs away. Sleepel? Who used Sleepel anymore? Tossing that one away as well, he dove back inside Vincent's various pockets and finally found what he was looking for: Heal, and more specifically Poisona.

"I hope I remember how to do this," Jack muttered, and after putting on Vincent's bangle, he stuck the Heal materia in one of the slots and stood to cast the spell. Color immediately returned to Vincent's face and he began to move, slowly at first as he clambered to his feet, and he clapped a hand to Jack's shoulder appreciatively. "So," he went on a little breathlessly. "What now?"

"I save Terra," Vincent said, looking at the hospital bed. "You get out of here; take Daltrey with you if you can."

"She's my sister, let me help you," Jack shouted over the increasing roar of the rain but Vincent shook his head.

"No! Right now she will only respond to emotion because that is the only thing the Mako inside of her can feel. Save her by saving yourself."

Jack didn't move, determined to stand his ground, and so Vincent shoved him back with what strength he had left. Jack stumbled through the door of the lab where Daltrey had since disappeared, but just as he regained his footing and made to go back into the lab, he stopped. There was an earnestness in Vincent's face that was pleading and at length Jack nodded at him with understanding. Jack had saved his life; now it was Vincent's turn to repay the debt, and so he made his way back down the hallway toward the elevator shaft where Daltrey sat hunkered against the wall.

"Come on," he spat at him, grabbing Daltrey's arm and hauling him to his feet. "Tell me there's a back way outta this place."

"J-just the emergency stairwell," he stammered, thumbing toward a window across from the elevator. It was cobwebbed with cracks but Jack could see just enough of the metalwork outside to make it out as an emergency exit.

"Well then, what're we waiting for? Let's go."

Jack elbowed the center of the webbing and the window exploded outward while sheeting water blew inward, pelting them with harsh, stinging rain. After shoving Daltrey through the window, Jack threw a glance back at the lab in time to see Vincent raise his arms. A second later, there was a severe flash of white with a strong gust of frosty wind and the entire lab was covered in ice.


	19. The Color of Crimson

**Disclaimer:** None of them are mine; they all belong to Squarenix

**A/N:** I know, I know, and I'm rightfully ashamed of myself. I apologize for the nearly month lapse in updating, but Writer's Block is nobody's friend, no matter what it tries to tell you :P . So, with that being said, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, and stayed with this little story from the beginning :) I appreciate all the wonderful reviews you guys have left; thank you so much! Well, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the greatest at endings, though I think this one turned out pretty well; it meets my stamp of approval anyway :) I truly hope this isn't the last we'll see of Terra and Vincent, but it will be awhile before I write any form of a sequel. Well then, welcome back everyone and please enjoy!

None of the news coming out of Midgar seemed at all believable. One account had former Turks looting the old records room on the sixty-eighth floor for any files pertaining to a top-secret Shin-Ra project. Another account had a motley crew of disgruntled constituents setting a Mako bomb in the old reactor down in the building's basement. Whatever the story, however, one fact remained a constant: Syd Daltrey had been behind it all, and was now facing criminal charges, the details of which were not being released by the governor's office. The entire city had known that Daltrey was engaged to the governor's daughter before her disappearance, and so the scandal was being blown wildly out of proportion. It eventually grew so severe that it was requested through certain mutual acquaintances that she not return home…at least not for another few months, and considering what had happened Terra wasn't inclined to disobey that request.

Nearly two days after the entire Shin-Ra building had been leveled to the ground, Vincent and Terra found themselves back on the island. They were both with barely enough strength between them to do much of anything other than sleep, but by the third morning Terra had managed to get herself up and about despite a lingering headache. Memories of what had happened hung heavy on Terra's mind as she milled listlessly about, avoiding Vincent's company merely because she didn't quite know how to face him. What did you say to a man who risked everything to save your life? Using materia so soon after being healed himself was stupid; it was reckless; it very well could have killed him, and yet she found she could not have expected anything less of him. That was just who Vincent was.

By the afternoon she finally gave herself something to do and spent much of her time cleaning the house. She dusted corners, swept under the furniture, and arranged and rearranged the bookcase that appeared not to have been touched in years until finally making her way into the kitchen where there were a few dirty dishes on the counter. A few of them were growing a hearty science experiment which she promptly tossed in the trash, and when she made it back to the sink, she paused when she saw the sparkling feathers of Anouk under what was left of the afternoon light. Vincent was with her, tending to her, and Terra watched him for a long time through the window as he milled about the chocobo. He looked odd without his trademark cloak, the garment sitting on the kitchen table in wait for him to work some kind of stitching magic to sew up the many rips and tears, but she supposed that was the way it was supposed to be. Knights in shining armor always looked odd without their escutcheon.

Dark descended upon the island before long and while Terra had wanted to wish Vincent a good night, she couldn't bring herself to venture outside. Sleeping held no appeal for her either. The rear bedroom was just a little too dark and a little too quiet, and she decided that the small, well-lit kitchen was as good a place as any to stay. Maybe if she washed these dishes, mopped the floor, she wouldn't have to think about what happened, and she immediately began to draw up some hot water in the sink. The water was scalding as she dipped her hands deep beneath the surface, but she didn't mind it. It kept her from replaying the feel of the Mako surging through her, taking over her body. It kept her from hearing her own screams inside of her head as the energy inside of her tore open the skies.

"Terra."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly without even looking up where Vincent stood in the doorway. She just continued to scrub at a greasy plate with a floppy blue sponge. "I didn't mean to keep you awake. I just wanted to get these dishes clean. One less mess, you know?"

His boots thudded on the floor as he stepped further into the kitchen, and she could suddenly feel him, feel his warmth directly behind her, but she didn't stop scrubbing. She couldn't stop scrubbing that stupid plate. "Terra," he said again, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder, and his other hand reached around her to grab her wrist.

"Just let me finish," she said, fighting his grip until he finally jerked the sponge from her hand and threw it away. It landed with a weak splat on the counter far out of reach, and Vincent firmly turned Terra to face him before she had a chance to make a dive for it. She then looked up at him, and the entire weight of everything that had happened came crashing down all around her and she began to cry. It was subtle at first, a few warm tears streaking down her cheeks until it graduated into quivering whimpers, and from there she was sobbing into Vincent's shoulder as she clutched him around the ribs tightly. They stayed that way for a long time, Vincent simply letting her unload every emotion she had pent up inside of her, and somewhere in the turmoil Terra's mouth was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of Vincent's full lips. A warm palm cradled her face as a cool frost encircled them and all at once it didn't matter anymore. None of it did.

"I felt you…deep inside I felt you trying to free me; the Mako felt you; it felt your love for me," she whispered through her tears, and she felt Vincent's hand move to cradle the base of her skull.

"I'm so sorry, Terra," he said against her lips, but she shook her head dismissively as she looked up at him.

"None of it was your fault," she said, and Vincent made an odd sort of noise that resembled a laugh.

"You are so forgiving for someone who has been deceived so much."

"That's just it, Vincent." –Terra paused to raise her hand and she touched her fingertips to his sculpted cheekbone. "You never lied to me, and I never stopped trusting you."

There was a long silence between them as they rested their foreheads together, neither of them speaking and neither of them needing to. It wasn't until Vincent finally moved that he spoke again, reaching inside of his cloak to pull something out to show her, and Terra watched him curiously.

"I had this made in Costa del Sol," he explained, tying a leather band about her right wrist and he took a step back so she could examine it properly. It was embossed with an intricate pattern and a few characters that Terra didn't recognize but it all flowed together in such a way that she almost believed them to be a part of the pattern. "It has taken me all this time to steel my nerve to give it to you but…well, there it is. The jeweler informed me that it was called a Binding Bracelet."

"A Binding Bracelet?" Terra echoed absently as she continued to examine it front and back.

"Local legend tells a story of Fire and Ice once bound together with so deep a love that nothing could separate them. When Death came to claim Ice for his throne, Fire traveled the very depths of hell to reclaim her. Upon her rescue, Fire bound her wrist with the leather of Death's shoes to remind her that there was no place he would not traverse to save her. That was my oath to you three months ago." –Vincent paused and held out his own wrist next to Terra's to reveal a matching leather band. "This bracelet is my oath to you from this day forward."

"Vincent I…I don't know what to say," Terra stammered, an overwhelming bubbly feeling beginning to percolate inside her chest, and she desperately wanted to fling her arms about his neck.

"I require no answer for even if you were to refuse me I would still splinter the gates of hell to save you…my dearest Shiva."

_Shiva_, Terra thought with the widest smile possible. _I could definitely get used to that pet name_.

And so it was. Fire and Ice were once again bound together by the leather of Death's shoes, never to be separated again.


End file.
